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South American Penguin Scientist update - Promises

Dear PenguinPromises

The chicks have finally hatched and they are really cute. At the moment they are still very small, weighing about 100 grams each. They are not yet able to walk, so Promises must be very careful with them. The chicks are like new born babies. They have to be kept nice and warm, so the parents tuck the chicks underneath and gently lie over them.

Penguins have a special pouch of bare skin on their lower abdomen called a "brood pouch". It is only used for keeping eggs and chicks warm. Most of the time the pouch is held closed by involuntary muscles and the pouch is not visible under the feathers. When the chicks are underneath Promises the muscles are relaxed and the pouch opens, giving the chicks a warm and safe 'hollow' underneath Promises.

The chicks are born with thin thread-like feathers, so when they are tucked inside the pouch, the bare skin of the brood patch is held tightly against the chicks, and the chicks are kept at the same temperature as Promises. During the first few days the chicks have no ability to create or control their own body heat, and depend entirely on Promises to keep warm.

As the chicks grow they start to generate and control their own body heat, and when that happens they start to grow thick fluffy feathers. These thick feathers would slow down the transfer of heat from Promises, which is why this only occurs when the chicks have begun generating their own warmth. From then on the chicks are able to leave the safety of Promises for short periods without getting cold (like the chick in the photo).

Just like human babies, the newly-born chicks wake up every few hours to be fed.
The chicks are fed a kind of fish stew that the penguins prepare in their stomach especially for the chicks. The two parents take turns going to sea to catch fish.
One goes to sea whilst the other stays at home with the chicks, and each day they change over. When the adults catch fish, they hold the fish in their stomach during the journey back to the colony, which can be several hours. Then back home they feed the fish to the chicks.

Many birds have what is called a "crop" to hold food for their chicks without it passing into the stomach, but penguins do not have a crop. Perhaps because small birds select small insects which they can feed to their chicks whole, a crop works better. However penguins have no teeth, and swallow their fish whole.
The fish they catch are far too large for a small chick to swallow.

Somehow the adults manage to control the fish inside their stomach, not only holding it for hours without digesting it, but also preparing it differently depending on the age of the chick. At the moment the chicks are tiny, so the fish is completely mashed up in the stomach into a kind of fish baby food. As the chicks get older the parents begin feeding them fish that is not so mashed up.

I cannot send you photos of the chicks just yet. They are far too small and weak to have their photos taken. At the moment taking a photo would mean lifting Promises up to expose the chicks hiding underneath, which would not be good for the chicks.
Penguins have large feet, and could easy trample on the tiny chicks accidentally if we disturbed them.

We also have to be very careful that the chicks remain well covered to protect them from foxes and seagulls that would steal the chicks given half a chance.
I attach a photo of foxes watching the penguins here in this colony. They are looking for a chance to steal eggs and chicks. The foxes are bigger than the penguins, but the adult penguins have nothing to fear. Penguins are little but they are tough and strong, and give a nasty bite.

As I do my rounds of the nests, most of the penguins are used to me and hardly react, but a few are always aggressive. Dealing with hundreds of nests it is easy to occasional forget how far a penguin can reach when it strikes. It can extend its neck quite a long way, a bit like a snake. I have had many a nasty bite from the penguins over the years, and a single bite can cut down to the bone, even through gloves.

The thing is that Magellanic penguins live on the mainland, so they have evolved to defend themselves against foxes and other predators. They have an upper bill that is longer than the lower one, with a downward hook on the tip, which locks against the lower bill. So when they bite the tip penetrates the skin and closes against the lower one, causing a nasty wound. Most species of penguin live only on islands with no predators and do not have that hook, so it is clearly for defense against terrestrial predators.

With such a powerful bite any fox that was stupid enough to go near Promises would loose the tip of its nose. So the foxes just watch. They watch every movement waiting for a careless penguin to leave the nest unattended long enough to steal the eggs or chicks.

Tourists come here to visit the penguin colony and I recently had an article published in the British newspapers demonstrating how tourists help to keep the penguins safe from predators. The tourists just look at the penguins and take photos. They don't bother the penguins, but the predators are afraid of the tourist, and they keep well away from the areas where the tourists visit. So the tourists actually help to keep the penguins safe by scarring away the predators.

You can see the article online with the following link, but I have also attached it at the end of this letter.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/cruise-passengers-help-boost-magellan-penguin-population/

The next time I write to you I will send you a photo of the chicks. By then they will be large enough to be walking around, so then I will be able to send you a nice photo of them. Until then I attach a Christmas card showing what the chicks look like when they are about three weeks old. The penguin in the photo lives in another colony that I study, where the chicks hatched about a month before the penguins here.

Finally I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Best wishes, Mike

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The Chilean island where the presence of cruise passengers is helping penguins breed

The Telegraph, 1st August 2019, written by Lesley Bellew

It seems all news of our natural world is that it is perilously under threat.
So now for some good news. Penguins in the Strait of Magellan, breed more successfully next to paths where cruise passengers visit because the presence of humans scares off predators.

Scientist Mike Bingham, who has been studying Magellanic penguins across South America for more than 20 years, visits every two weeks during the breeding season to record the penguin numbers and eggs that are laid.

"Magdalena Island is one of Chile's most important Magellanic penguin colonies and the best rookery in Patagonia for tourists to get close to the birds," said Dr Bingham.

"The penguins are unfazed by humans, having learned that visitors arriving on tenders stay on designated walkways and do not venture onto the grass or near burrows. One of the greatest threats to chicks are skuas, large predatory seabirds, but they do not go near the penguins when humans are present - so visitors sailing in actually help the penguins."

Dr Bingham has seen the population of penguins on the island decrease by one third from 59,000 pairs in 2000 to 43,000 in 2018, but confirms the decrease is due to the birds relocating along the coast to Cabo Virgenes.

He said: "Climate change has reduced rainfall on Magdalena Island and a severe drought killed off virtually all the vegetation in 2010, causing much of the island to become unsuitable for making burrows.

"The penguin population was increasing until the drought and the decline since then reflects the loss of suitable breeding areas, not a regional decline. The population on nearby Cabo Virgenes has, in turn, increased due to a move by some penguins from one location to another."

Penguins in southern Chile and Argentina are protected from commercial fishing through no-fishing zones and breeding success is high, with chicks fledging after
45 days. Average foraging trips for adults feeding chicks is 14 to 16 hours and plenty of chicks fledge at a healthy 3kg.

Dr Bingham, 60, explained: "Flooding affected burrows in 2018, but while the adults do not suffer, eggs or chicks cannot survive in the wet."

Two rangers from the Chile National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) live on one square kilometre Magdalena Island and they are on alert when penguins arrive for the breeding season until the last birds leave. The rangers ensure hunters are kept at bay so the penguins have every chance to breed - and the centuries-old practice of using penguins as bait to catch the local delicacy king crab is now illegal.

In spring, male Magellanic penguins arrive on the island about two weeks before the females to prepare the burrows for mating.

They return to the same burrow every year, clearing the debris and relining it with moss and grass to create the perfect love nest, knowing one slip in the domestic arrangements could mean the females look elsewhere.
Penguins usually stay together for life when they pick a mate.

With the pressure on, the males also make an extra effort with their appearance, continually preening, and when everything is ready they stand to attention at the side of their burrows, braying like a donkey and looking wistfully out to sea for their partner. It's a haunting call and the tension is high as females arrive to check the burrow for comfort and suitability for rearing chicks.

The pairs usually stay together for life and take it in turns to incubate and care for two chicks when they hatch in summer (December), and they also share the responsibility for feeding by hunting in the waters surrounding the island.
Here, the penguins do get some help from Mother Nature; their black backs make it more difficult for sea birds to see them swimming and their white bellies offer camouflage from predators in the water.

For passengers on the new 200-passenger expedition ship Ventus Australis, a highlight of their Patagonia Explorer cruise from Ushuaia, in Argentina, to Punta Arenas in Chile, is to visit Magdalena Island. The ship moors a good distance from the shore and the visitors are transported by small tenders.

On the evening before the tour, a lecture by one of the ship's wildlife guides whets the appetite for the visit and includes the important rules of keeping to paths, giving right of way to penguins if they are crossing and keeping down the noise. The guidance is delivered with charm and on the island it was impressive to see, without exception, each passenger appreciated their privilege and adhered to the 'penguin code'.

Once back on board the excitement spilled over with everyone sharing their stories and photographs. The visit was one of many highlights on the five-day expedition created for passengers with a keen interest in wildlife and the environment.
We also saw a black-browed albatross and southern giant petrels drifting on the air currents, kelp gulls and the rather comical flightless steamer duck with wings whirling in circles as the name implies.

The sailing on Ventus Australis is totally focused on environmental and social responsibility. The ship complies with the National and International standards for environmental protection and a scientific and tourism cooperation covenant has been signed with the Center of Quaternary Studies Fuego-Patagonia and Antarctica for the development of top-level sustainable scientific tourism.

The Australis Expedition Team also supply photographs of glaciers, marine and land mammals, and measurements of water temperature in glacier zones for scientific analysis. Every passenger leaves the ship with a heightened awareness of the importance of the natural world and there is no doubt their rave reports when they return home attract more and more visitors to the southern-tip of South America.

Tourist numbers in Patagonia, a region shared by Chile and Argentina, are on the increase. Chile was named the number one place to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet and visitor numbers were expected to be seven million for the year, up on the record 6.4 million in 2017.

Those visiting Magdalena Island can rest assured they will not be upsetting the penguins - and that's official.
The essentials

Lesley Bellew sailed on new ship Ventus Australis as an extension to Saga Holidays'
15-night Patagonia Ends of the Earth tour, flying with British Airways, from
£4,399 per person.

Dr Mike Bingham is the author of Penguins of the Falkland Islands and South America.

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> > Dear PenguinPromises > > The penguins are now back home in the colony after their month long feeding trip. > They have had a very relaxing time just floating in the water and recovering > their weight after the exhausting period of chick-rearing. > > Whilst they were away the penguins did not spend much time swimming, except for > when they were hungry and decided to go fishing. Most of their time was spent > bobbing up and down in the water, rising and falling with each passing wave. > Sometimes the waves can be huge, and floating out in the open ocean can be like > being on a roller coaster. I can say that from personal experience of using inflatable > launches to reach offshore penguin colonies. > > I often visit the Rockhopper colony on Isla Pinguino which is about 40 km offshore > from Puerto Deseado in open ocean. Even in what fisherman would call good weather, > going over the peak of each wav