MACQUARIE ISLAND- AN AUSTRALIAN TERRITORY: BIRDING DOWN UNDER

Southwest of Campbell Island, at 54 degrees south, Macquarie Island is a relatively young island with tangible links to the New Zealand groups. It shares a number of plants as well as several seabird and marine mammal species with the New Zealand islands. Macquarie has no woody plants among its 41 native species. Sprawling penguin colonies and large numbers of elephant seals are among the island;s wildlife features. 

The great Australian Antarctic Explorer Sir Douglas Mawson once called Macquarie Island,"One of the wonder spots of the world." We shall spend DAYS 7 and 8 during the Birding Down Under Voyage observing and photographing the wildlife of Macquarie Island which was one of the first subantarctic island to obtain World Heritage Status, largely due to its unique geology. It is one of the few places on earth where mid-ocean coastal rocks are exposed at the surface due to the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. 

Macquarie Island is home to four species of penguins, Kings, Royals, Gentoo and Rockhopper. 

 The Royal Penguin, above and below, occurs nowhere else in the world. 

 Royal Penguin with chick, below.

There is a pleasant boardwalk that leads to the heart of the colony.

Like all crested-type penguins, Royals are quarrelsome.

 

Mating Royal Penguins, below.

 At the beach, the Royal Pengins curiosity is quite amazing.

A Royal Penguin approaches Debi, below. 

The young folks, below, really did not know how to react to this!

The ever-present Brown Skua.

 This is a near magical experience, below, where King Penguins actually swim out to greet the boats.

 Especially so, considering that below, are the remains of the "penguin cookers" where King Penguins were boiled for their blubber.

 A Zodiac cruise along the shoreline reveals how huge the King Penguin colony is!

King Penguin colony, below.

 Scavenging Giant Petrels, below, as seen from the cruise in the kelp beds.

 This is the place to see Southern Elephant Seals, both in the water and on land.

 Nose of the Southern Elephant Seal, below.

 Pups are born in October and weaned in November when the breeding adults return to the sea. The weaners and sub adults lie about the beaches until they go to sea in January, running the gauntlet of Killer Whales who are waiting offshore!

Macquarie Island was discovered in 1810 and was soon ravaged by sealers who introduced various animals including rats, mice, cats and rabbits. The native bird population was virtually eliminated and plants destroyed. The Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service which administered the island recently embarked on a very ambitious eradication program which seems to have been successful. The island is now predator free and both the birds and plants are responding. It is amazing to witness the regeneration and the increase in the numbers of birds. (When I last visited, rabbits, cats and rats still existed on this island!) 

We depart for Campbell Island on the afternoon of the second day.

Birding Down Under,

Debi Shearwater

THE SNARES or TINI HEKE: BIRDING DOWN UNDER VOYAGE

The closest group to mainland New Zealand, and the most hospitable, The Snares are about 100 km southwest of Stewart Island— just half a day's sailing. There are two distinct clusters: a main group featuring North East Island and adjacent Broughton Island, and a line of small islands called the Western Chain, 3.5 kim southwest of the main cluster. These islands are appropriately called The Snares as they were once considered a hazard for sailing ships. They are uninhabited. 

We plan to arrive early in the morning on Day 3 of the Birding Down Under voyage, November 9 to 25, 2014. Landing on the islands is not possible, as there are so many nesting birds that one would literally be stepping on birds! We will Zodiac cruise along the sheltered eastern side of the main island. If the weather and sea conditions are favorable in the sheltered bays, we should see the endemic Snares Crested Penguin, Snares Island Tomtit and Fernbirds. Cape Pigeons, Antarctic Terns, White-fronted Terns and Red-billed Gulls are also present in good numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters nesting in underground condominium-like burrows on The Snares; the actual number is much debated. The Buller's Albatross breed here from January onwards. We hope to see some arriving individuals. 

Among the islands of the Southern Ocean, The Snares has the distinction of being the only forested group without introduced mammals, not even mice. As such it is a remarkable haven for wildlife. Granite cliffs surround the bulk of the group, and erosion by the sea has produced deep narrow caverns, sink holes and gulches. Lying close to the Subtropical Convergence, The Snares group enjoys a climate that is surprisingly uniform throughout the year. The mean annual temperature is 11 degrees C, 51.5 degrees F. 

After the Sooty Shearwater, or titi, the bird most closely associated with The Snares is the Snares Crested Penguin. They typically gather in groups under the tree daisies and sometimes perch on the bent over trunks. Around the coastline, the New Zealand Fur Seal and New Zealand Sea Lion are breeding. Forests of the large tree daisy are the dominant feature across about 80 percent of the main islands. It may seem strange to see penguins standing on tree limbs! There are other plants, birds and insects. This is a simple introduction to a very unique place. 

SOOTY SHEARWATER, or Titi

Image by Doug Koch, copyright.

For those who have seen Sooty Shearwaters on West Coast pelagic trips—

Going home with the Sooty Shearwaters,

Debi Shearwater