Tuesday, December 13, 2011

South Africa #14: To Braai, or not to Braai?

Penguin biologist Paul Leonard is in South Africa researching African penguins in the wild on Dassen Island, once home to 600,000 penguins. The following is a closing post from the field, where there are only about 8,000 birds today. 

 Of course you have to Braai!

When you come to South Africa, there is a time-honored tradition that you have to experience: The Braai. A braai is this country’s homage to barbequing. There is a specific process that is followed and orchestrated by the pit master. Wood is the preferred fuel of choice with charcoal being the runner up.



Once lit, the fire must be allowed to burn down to just the embers before the food can be cooked. So while the flames dance and the wood crackles, this is when everyone gets a chance to catch up. Our time here on Dassen has come to an end. As we stare at the flames, we reflect on our time here and ponder what future endeavors might yield from the fieldwork. My colleagues ask me how I thought things went and all I can do is grin. “This was an awesome, eye-opening experience,” I say. They laugh and respond with, “Great! We’ll see you back here next week right?”

We all know that the African penguin is facing some very difficult times ahead. Coming to South Africa…teaming up with SANCCOB, the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Cape Nature Reserves has given me a new perspective on the work being done for African penguin conservation. My colleagues' continued passion and dedication shows in their daily work. Hopefully, the measures they are taking now will give these amazing penguins a chance to carry on.

Well, the pit master has begun grilling. It’s time to get ready and eat.


We will be leaving tomorrow. That means one more ride on the Storm Petrel…Bring it!


Boston, I’ll be home soon!
Cheers!
Paul


Me, Dr. Antje Steinfurth, Leshia and Johan Visagie

Learn about the time Paul spent nursing abandoned chicks to health at a local rescue facility here.

Follow the adventures of Paul's co-worker, Jo! Aquarium educator Jo Blasi is still on the mainland in South Africa learn about African penguins and raising abandoned chicks at SANCCOB through their chick bolstering project! Read about her experience on the Explorers Blog

Monday, December 5, 2011

South Africa #13: Hey, We're Not Alone!

The African penguins on Dassen Island are not the only ones in trouble. Dassen is home to nine other species of seabirds that are carefully monitored by Cape Nature, the organization responsible for the island. Two of these most important species to South Africa are the African black oystercatcher and the great white pelican.

The African black oystercatcher is a threatened species with only an estimated 5,000 birds left. They nest on several of South Africa's coastal islands. They are very skittish and can be easily disturbed leaving their nests open to predation. Habitat intrusion has been a big problem for them. However, there are promising signs on Dassen. The public is not allowed to come to the island thanks to Cape Nature's rules. Oystercatchers can be seen all around the shoreline.


The great white pelican can also be found on Dassen Island. I am told that its status is being monitored internationally, but is not as severe. For this region though, there is only one other coastal island in southern Africa that these enormous birds breed on, St. Croix Island. Locally, this makes them a very rare bird. They tend to be pretty notorious here. They travel around in groups scaring other seabirds off their nests for a meal. It can be an intimidating sight.

Well, my time here is almost up. I'll soon be heading home...

Learn about the time Paul spent nursing abandoned chicks to health at a local rescue facility here.

Follow the adventures of Paul's co-worker, Jo! Aquarium educator Jo Blasi is still on the mainland in South Africa learn about African penguins and raising abandoned chicks at SANCCOB through their chick bolstering project! Read about her experience on the Explorers Blog.  

Saturday, December 3, 2011

South Africa #12: Dassen’s Penguin Study

Penguin biologist Paul Leonard is in South Africa researching African penguins in the wild on Dassen Island, once home to 600,000 penguins. The following is a photo update from the field, where there are only about 8,000 birds today. 

I've mentioned that the goals of this journey to Dassen are to collect data and measure the health of its penguin colony.


African penguin chick
African penguins will leave their burrows and walk to the sea during the dawn hours. They will swim around all day foraging, and return home at dusk. The penguins here tend to be very shy and can be easily scared so we have to be extremely careful when venturing out into the colony. The island stewards say the best time to walk around the island is between 9 am and 4 pm. They have been studying these birds for a long time. Many of the penguin nests are marked and checked regularly for occupancy. When they find a penguin in the burrow, the bird's condition is assessed. The residency classifications are: is the bird on eggs, is the bird molting, is the bird "loafing" or hanging out. If no one is home, there are 2 categories to assess the nest: unoccupied and deserted--for any found with abandoned eggs.

Checking on a penguin burrow

Marking the burrow

Dassen is unique in the sense that its penguins breed both in the winter and summer months. Summer is just now beginning here. Many of the nests on the island have eggs in them, which is a promising sign. However, growing up penguin is not at all easy. Less than half of these chicks will make it to adulthood. African penguin parents share the responsibility for raising their young. Recently researchers have been finding that some African penguin parents are spending more time at sea, foraging for food. They sometimes won't return to their burrows for several days. After raising penguin chicks at the Aquarium, I know how ravenous they can get. They constantly need to be fed. The parent tending to the chicks will eventually grow hungry and leave. The chicks are then left on their own to fend for themselves. This is why the second portion of the work we are conducting is so important.

Attaching the GPS data loggers

Team is placing GPS data loggers on some of the parents to see what they are doing when they go to sea each day. It's not an easy job. First you must find a suitable nest with penguin parents and chicks. Then you must check the nest for a few days to see if the parents are switching places. Once it's confirmed, then you're ready to deploy the data loggers. How do you do that? Do you just reach in a grab the penguin? Well, kind of, but it's not a simple task. The parent has to be carefully removed so that the chicks aren't damaged. So what you do is reach in and let the penguin bite into your hand (we do wear protective gloves while do this). Once the bird has a hold of you, then you can grab its head. The next step is to slowly bring the animal out of the next. While doing this you have to be careful not to injure it, or damage the nest. With the penguin safely out, you can now attach the data logger.

Measuring the chicks

Beak length and weight measurements are also performed on the bird at this time. When we're finished, the bird is placed back into the burrow. They almost always scramble back in, so we must wait for a few moments to make sure the chicks are ok. The data loggers are left on the penguin for a couple of days. Afterwards, we will return to retrieve them. This process has to be repeated on another dozen penguins over the course of 2 weeks. It is not easy work and can be very time consuming. However, the information collected is priceless. Field research is a lot of fun!

Having an amazing time!  

Learn about the time Paul spent nursing abandoned chicks to health at a local rescue facility here.

Follow the adventures of Paul's co-worker, Jo! Aquarium educator Jo Blasi is still on the mainland in South Africa learn about African penguins and raising abandoned chicks at SANCCOB through their chick bolstering project! Read about her experience on the Explorers Blog

South Africa #11: Dassen's African Penguin Homes

Penguin biologist Paul Leonard is in South Africa researching African penguins in the wild on Dassen Island, once home to 600,000 penguins. The following is a photo update from the field, where there are only about 8,000 birds today. 



 
Most people aren't aware that African penguins make their nests underground. Here on Dassen, the penguins have chosen several different schemes to call home.

 
African penguin burrows

Even some artificial homes were transplanted around the island. However, the penguins seem to prefer their traditional design.

The island is considered to be a remnant of an ancient volcano. As a result it is covered in limestone and some penguins have chosen to live in it.

The penguin parents have the best intentions when creating their new homes. Unfortunately, Mother Nature eventually takes over and many disappear into the island.

Learn about the time Paul spent nursing abandoned chicks to health at a local rescue facility here.

Follow the adventures of Paul's co-worker, Jo! Aquarium educator Jo Blasi is still on the mainland in South Africa learn about African penguins and raising abandoned chicks at SANCCOB through their chick bolstering project! Read about her experience on the Explorers Blog