A Solution to the Problem of Determining the Occupancy Status of Wedge-Tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus Burrows

Abstract

The problem of establishing the breeding status of burrowing birds is compounded by the inaccessibility of long meandering burrows. A solution, involving manipulation of a mini video camera and monitor, using infra-red light is presented hich enables efficient, reliable recording of burrow occupancy with minimum disturbance to the birds and burrows. It was designed to establish the breeding status of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus in the Capricorn Group of islands, Great Barrier Reef, but with proper screening and possibly, further modification, its use need not be site or species specific.