WHAT’S ON?
As summer approaches I’m beginning to organise our camp trips, which I know is the
highlight of the Watch Group year for many of you. We have a number of visits
already arranged and you will be finding out very soon which trip you will be going
on.
So far we have been offered a weekend on Bleaker Island, where members will be
involved in planting tussac on the northern point of the island. A two night trip to
Weddell Island will be offered to the older members of the group. This will be a
fantastic opportunity to visit an island that has been closed to the public for a
number of years. There are other trips in the pipeline including Little Chartres, Sea
Lion Island and possibly George and Barren Islands. We’ll also have a Christmas
BBQ (weather permitting!) and a whole Watch Group camp somewhere on the Eastlocation to be confirmed! We have a busy and exciting few months ahead!
Patagonian fox on
Weddell Island
RN
ocky’s
ews
Issue
94
The newsletter for the younger members of Falklands Conservation
On Saturday 4th October many of the Watch Group members met at the Agriculture Department to
visit the penguins that have recently been brought in for rehabilitation after being oiled out at sea.
There are 9 penguins in total - 4 kings, 3 rockhoppers, 1 gentoo and a rare visitor to the Falkland
Islands, a chinstrap. Most of the penguins have been found in and around Stanley, particularly on
Surf Bay but the gentoo we have was flown in from Sea Lion Island after turning up there in a
badly oiled condition.
It was really nice to see so many of you there for the visit, especially the new members from MPA
who made the journey into town despite the cold and windy weather. It’s was a rare opportunity to
see these 4 species of penguin together in the same location and see the intensive programme of
rehabilitation that is underway by the staff and volunteers at Falklands Conservation.
Watch Group on Bleaker
Island 2006
Next Meeting! Saturday November 8th
2-4pm.
We will be visiting the Aquaculture Project up at Moody Brook to
find out about the fish hatchery and also doing some stream dipping
in Moody Brook itself. This will be an exciting opportunity to see the
fish farm in action including being shown some of the newly hatched
Zebra Trout, a native freshwater fish, which are becoming
increasingly more rare to see in the wild. We will also be finding out
what aquatic animals live in the stream which provides all of the
water for Stanley. You might be very surprised!!
Please wear warm clothes and wellies.
Meet at Moody Brook at the head of Stanley Harbour at 2pm.
Look forward to seeing you there!
WATCH Group is the junior branch of Falklands
Conservation.
Falklands Conservation is a Company limited by
guarantee in England and Wales no. 3661322 and
Registered Charity no. 1073859. Registered Office: 1
Princes Avenue, Finchley, London N3 2DA, UK.
Sponsored by
Feeding time!
We all love the Chinstrap!
He was found on the PWD slip in
Stanley!
The rehabilitation programme begins as soon as the penguins are brought in. First we need to get
fluids into the birds as they are usually dehydrated. We put a thin tube into their stomach and
gently put a solution of minerals and vitamins directly into their stomach. We also feed them some
charcoal which absorbs any oil that the penguin has swallowed whilst trying to preen and clean it’s
feathers.
Next, the birds need to be washed. This involves firstly rubbing cooking oil into the oiled feathers
to loosen the sticky, black tarry oil. Then it is just thorough process of washing with fairy liquid and
rinsing with warm water. We have to try and do this quite quickly otherwise the birds get stressed
and could even go into shock, especially the rockhoppers.
The future.....?
Obviously once our penguins have been rehabilitated
they will be released back into the wild. Although they
won’t breed this year we hope that in the future they
will find a mate, especially the young king penguins, and
then start to contribute the the populations in the
Falkland Islands.The poor Chinstrap faces a long
journey South to find a mate!
OUR PENGUINS!
Falklands Conservation keeps a check on the
populations of penguins by doing a census every 5
years. This means we count every penguin in the islands
which can be a tricky job especially the Rockhoppers
that breed on steep cliffs.
How do we do it?
King Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Chinstrap Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Height: 85 - 95cm
Height: 75 - 80cm
Height: 60 - 65cm
Height: 45 - 55cm
Weight: 11 - 16kg
Weight: 6 - 8kg
Weight: 3 - 5kg
Weight: 2 - 3kg
Found: Falkland Islands,
Macquarie Island, South
Georgia.
Found: Falkland Islands,
South Georgia, Antarctic
Peninsula,South Shetlands,
South Sandwich Islands.
Found: South Sandwich
Islands, South Orkneys,
South Shetlands and
Antarctic Peninsula.
Found: Falkland Islands,
Macquarie Island, Price
Edward Island, Crozet
Island and Heard Island.
Feeds:Small crustaceans,
such as lobster krill and
fish. It doesn’t travel
more than 10km from
land.
Feeds: Small
crustaceans, such as
lobster krill and fish.
Feeds near the surface.
Feeds:Krill, squid and small
fish.
Feeds: Small fish,
espcially Lantern fish. Can
dive to depths of over
300m.
Breeds: In large colonies
near sand beaches. Lays
one egg every 18 months
and incubates it on it’s
feet.
Falklands population:
Around 700 breeding
pairs. 2005 census.
Breeds: In quite small
colonies on grassy
hillsides. Lays 2 eggs in a
shallow nest of vegetation
or pebbles.
Falklands population:
65,000 breeding pairs.
2005 census.
Breeds: In huge dense
colonies on steep rocky
slopes. Lays 2 eggs in a
shallow scrape nest of
pebbles.
Falklands population: 0!
Apart from our little fella!
They occasionally turn up
in the islands.
Breeds: In large colonies
on steep rocky slopes
amongst other species such
as Black-browed Albatross.
Lays 2 eggs in a shallow
hollow.
Falklands population:
Around 200,000 breeding
pairs. 2005 census.
We work in pairs using tally counters - little gadgets
that you click as you count. You have to do the census
during the breeding season and you only count the
penguins that are incubating their eggs on a nest. We
count the colonies 2 or 3 times until we find an average
that we agree on and that is your population of
breeding pairs.For very large colonies we use more
complicated methods and do counts from photos.
In the Falkland Islands penguin numbers sadly seem to
be generally decreasing.While King Penguins are
reasonably stable, Gentoos tend to suffer from yearly
changes; some good years some bad years and
Rockhopper numbers are declining rapidly.
King Penguins:
Gentoo Penguins:
2005
2000
2005
Rockhopper Penguins: 2000
2005
700
113,600
65,000
298,000
210,000
These numbers speak for themselves and are exactly
the reason why we’re keen to help any of the penguins
that turn up oiled. It’s a tough, time consuming job but
we have to do what we can to help.
If you do come across an oiled penguin please don’t try
to catch it yourself - you may harm the bird and
yourself in the process. Contact us here at Falklands
Conservation and we will collect it and take it to the
penguin unit and begin the process of rehabilitation.
Telephone: 22247