I visited 10 breeding sites across the range of Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) in 1995. Based on the developmental stage of chicks at each of the sites, breeding begins progressively later in more northern colonies. Fiordland crested penguins had unusually high hatching success on Taumaka I. (Open Bay Islands) in 1995, and I suggest from anecdotal observations made at the nine other sites that 12% of pairs may have raised two chicks in that year. Together, these observations suggest that Fiordland crested penguins had an unusually good breeding season in 1995. The suggestion that rare “good” years occur, allowing two chicks to be raised, has implications for explanations of brood reduction in crested penguins.
Rhys Philip Buckingham (MNZM) Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, For Services to Ecology. David Edgar Crockett Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, For Public Services.
Common land-birds in a rural suburban garden, Wellington, New Zealand, were counted for 10 minutes twice an hour, twice a month for 2 years, from dawn to dusk. The birds’ behaviour sometimes changed or they entered or left the study area during the day; so there is no ideal time of day for counting birds.
Breeding of North Island robins was monitored at two sites in Pureora Forest Park, central North Island, during the 19961 97 and 1997/98 breeding seasons. A total of 146 nests was found. First clutches were laid in September-October (mean: 20 September) and last clutches in November-January (mean: 17 December). Pairs had time to rear three broods during the breeding season (September-March), although most reared only two. Nest materials and nest location are described: mean nest height was 5.3 m (range 1.0 – 13.6). Mean clutch size was 2.60 (clutches of 2 or 3). Monthly mean clutch size increased from September to November, then decreased. The breeding biology of the North Island subspecies of robin at Pureora was similar to that of the South Island robin at Kaikoura. Nesting success improved dramatically after brushtail possums were poisoned by aerially distributed 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) baits, because mammalian predators were also poisoned. Robins are easy to monitor, and predation is a common cause of nest failure, so the species is potentially a valuable indicator of predator activity.
An annotated checklist of the bird species of Niue Island in the southwest Pacific is provided from published and unpublished sources, and from observations during April-May, September, and December 1994. Results for common species were derived from five-minute counts, numbers seen per kilometre while travelling by motorcycle along roads, and single species surveys. The number of species on Niue is 31 (6 seabirds, 10 shorebirds, and 15 land birds). The common noddy (Anous stolidus) was confirmed as nesting on the island. Recommendations are made for the future management of the hunted Pacific pigeon (Ducula pacifica) and the scarce blue-crowned lory (Vini australis).
The nesting activities and breeding success of black shags (Phalacrocorax carbo) near Lake Kohangatera, Wellington, were studied from 1993 to 1998. The colony was used during November-July by a mean of 67 birds per night, but in August-October numbers increased to a mean of 98 birds when fledglings were present. Courtship and nest-building began in March, and nesting continued until October-November when the last chicks fledged. Most clutches (85% of 185) were laid in April-May (early nests), the remainder being laid in June-September (late nests). The mean estimated laying date of early nests varied from 14 April in 1998 to 3 May in 1995, the overall mean (1993-98) being 24 April. During the day typically the male took two incubation stints, including the first, and the female one or two. The mean length of incubation stints by females was 3 h 46 min, over an hour longer than that of males. However, the mean time females and males were absent from the colony to forage, 2 h 39 mins and 2 h 21 mins respectively, did not differ significantly. Three types of changeovers seen during incubation are described, as are the activities of adults and chicks during nestling rearing. Fledglings took their first flights when 49-60 days old, but continued to be fed by their parents for 40 to 80 days afterwards, the oldest fledged young seen fed being about 140 days old. Of 185 breeding attempts during 1993-98, 83% were successful, the majority resulting in one or two fledglings per nest. Mean brood size at fledging varied with year, from 1.1 in 1997 to 1.7 in 1998. Overall, the mean brood size was 1.4 fledged young per nest, and 1.7 for successful attempts. Early clutches were more productive than late ones. We conclude that a pair of black shags would be unable to successfully rear two broods and complete their moult within a year, and that late nestings were replacement clutches.