Populations of Little Penguins, Short-tailed Shearwaters and other Seabirds on Phillip Island, Victoria, 1978

Abstract

The numbers of burrows in colonies of the Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris and the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor on Phillip Island during October and November 1978 were estimated as 542,300 and in the order of 6,000 respectively. Most (66%) of the Shearwaters' burrows are on Cape Woolamai; almost all the Little Penguins' burrows are at the western end of the Island.

Though the nxmber of Shearwater colonies on the Island appears to have increased this century, the total population of Shearwaters may have changed little in recent times. The colonies of both species are being threatened by encroaching real-estate development and increased tourism. Therefore, and because habitats suitable for colonization are unlikely to be available in future, we suggest that reserves should be established or consolidated round the more secure colonies rather than elsewhere.

Records of breeding populations of the Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae, Kelp Gull L. dominicanus and Crested Tern Sterna bergii are also summarized.