Our day in the field today at PSJ could be summed up with two words: penguins and wind!! We had a very productive day continuing our health assessment project working with the Humboldt penguins. The penguins we examined today were nesting in an area that the biologists call “Penguin Town.” The nests in this area are at the top of cliff overlooking beach S5. The edge of the cliff is 60+ feet above the rocky shore. The strong ocean wind blows relentlessly and kicks up constant sand, covering us and all our equipment in a layer of salty dust, making it a tricky area to work.Penguin Town is really an area of prime real estate in terms of nest location. This area is away from the shoreline, where nests are protected from predators but can be washed away in high surf and. The penguins are able to dig deep burrows into a soft, sandy mixture of dry guano, creating deep safe nesting sites. This type of burrow is the ideal nest type for the Humboldt penguin. Guano harvests over the last century have significantly decreased the amount of guano covered landscape available where the penguins can dig nests. Conservation efforts over the past decade have helped to create “sustainable guano harvests” in which the nesting birds are not disturbed and guano is not harvested from the areas with prime nesting sites. In an effort to enhance the amount of available “property” available for nesting in these locations, biologists have tried giving the birds artificial nests. These strategically placed concrete huts have worked well in some locations to provide additional penguin nesting sites.
During our morning visit to Penguin Town, we were able to examine and collect samples from 24 birds. Since there are many nests close together, we were able to work fairly quickly. Marco is an expert at safely getting the penguins out of their deep burrows and restraining them for us to work, even when he is scooting along the edge of a tall cliff. It is amazing to think about the penguins making the trip up and down off these cliffs everyday to feed. When there are eggs in the nest, one parent stays with the eggs to keep them warm, while the other goes out to feed. When the chicks begin to grow, it’s common for both parents to be out at sea getting food to bring back for the growing chicks. It’s quite humbling to watch how easily the penguins hop up and down the rocky shoreline to get to their nests. There are times when Jen and I have quite a struggle getting down to some of the beaches!!Getting back to the wind – today, there was a very strong wind blowing off the ocean over the beach below us. PSJ is currently full of juvenile cormorants that are just beginning to learn to fly and fish for themselves. Many of these birds were sitting on the cliff edges today in the wind, beginning to master the art of flying. When Jen and I were at PSJ in February, we examined some of these birds as chicks. Now that they are learning to fend for themselves, the cliff edges and beaches are full of juvenile cormorants. The winds also provide a constant updraft that the various gulls, Inca terns, and Peruvian boobies utilize to soar above the cliffs and nesting sites. Watching these birds just “float” about you is an amazing experience, as there are literally thousands of birds soaring overhead. The Penguin Town area is very close to many Inca tern nests and these birds were around us all day today, chattering at us as we worked.
We have now examined and collected samples from a total of 60 penguins since arriving in PSJ. We do some of the sample processing and tests in a house in the town of Marcona, which is just a short drive from PSJ, where we are able to set up a basic field lab. This lab work takes several hours to complete and it’s usually evening before we are finished. It’s definitely the less “glamorous” side of the fieldwork, but it is the part that provides much of our data to assess the health of the birds. Many of the tests we run can’t be performed in Peru and we have to bring the blood and serum samples back to the United States. We transport these samples in a liquid nitrogen dry shipper, which keeps them frozen to around -70ºC for the trip back home.
Since we have so much great help this trip, today we have finished all the lab work a little early and I was able to see the sunset over the ocean. The sunsets here really do take your breath away – it’s just a beautiful site to see! More tomorrow!
Mike Adkesson, DVM
Veterinarian – WildCare Institute, Saint Louis Zoo
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