Yellow-eyed Penguins

Looking for a good place to spend the night...

We learned about the yellow-eyed penguin when we first came through Dunedin on the cruise ship. Now that we are more mobile than when on the ship, we thought we would do all we could to see them in the wild.  Our guidebook suggested a remote spot on Otago Peninsula called Sandfly Beach (we hoped it would not live up to its name – we took bug spray just in case!).  We drove to the trailhead where we made our way down a long steep trail to the beach.  At the far end of the beach was a blind set up by the Department of Conservation where people can view the penguins without disturbing them.  We were told that we would be able to see them anytime after 4pm, because that’s when they start to come onto land to spend the night. 

Surprisingly, they are great climbers

We made the trek to the blind and hunkered down, patiently waiting to spot the elusive penguin.  One hour went by, then two, and still no penguins.  Other folks arrived, while others left, and still no penguins.  At some point in the evening we figured they either decided to stay at sea for the night or they chose another spot to bed down, probably one with fewer people walking up and down the beach.  We cut our losses and took the long walk back to our car.  While crossing the beach we saw very distinctive footprints in the sand – definitely a penguin!  It must have come out of the sea and waddled into the sand dunes, where we were forbidden to enter, according to all the signs posted by the DOC.  We left the penguin alone, satisfied that at least we had evidence of its existence!

The next day, after more research, we decided to try the lighthouse by Moeraki for penguin spotting.  We made our way out there around 6pm and were not disappointed.  We saw a couple dozen of them overall.  These penguins are quite solitary – we never saw a bunch of them together.  One at a time they would come out of the water and spend time grooming themselves before heading into the bushes.  Try as we might, we never saw them actually exit the water – it was more like they would just suddenly appear on the beach!  We saw a few baby penguins too, all covered in soft brown fur, hiding in the bushes.  We kept a safe distance, having been warned that penguins will actively defend their nests (a penguin attack is supposed to be like being grabbed by a pair of needle nose pliers while being beaten with a pair of sandals!). 

Cute penguin couple waddling up the trail together!

We spent a lot of time by the lighthouse, walking back and forth along the coast, watching the penguins come ashore, one by one, for the night.  We saw them climb steep mountainsides to get to the tall grass where they would lay down for the night.  My favorite part was watching two penguins waddle up a trail together, like a little old married couple.  They were so cute! 

The yellow-eyed penguin is only found in New Zealand and is one of its rarest penguins.  Its estimated population is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000. It is a little over two feet tall and is the fourth largest of the world’s penguins.  Its distinguishing characteristics are its yellow eyes and the yellow stripe on its head that runs through the eye around the back of the head.   The penguins nest in forest or shrubland, preferring secluded areas.  They nest in loose “colonies,” near each other but not within sight of one another.  The loss of coastal forest in NZ has contributed to their decline, although their biggest threat is the introduced species of stoats (a type of weasel) and wild cats, which have been known to eat the eggs and chicks.

For someone who does not like the cold, it was interesting to ponder the life of a penguin.  They live in such cold places, swim in cold waters, and are exposed to cold rain and wind a lot of the time.  I can’t think of anything worse, and yet this is their life and they don’t know anything different.   They are perfectly suited for the life they live - that’s the beauty of nature for you!