From Macca: Jenny has a story of two historic huts on the east coast, Kris (TASPAWS ranger) tells us of some revealing finds from banded birds and Clive has some final words about the marine debris collection.

Historic huts — living in an aircraft engine crate

Everyone on the island, and all the tourists who visit, are familiar with the little old field hut at Sandy Bay. It is solid as a rock and banded with rusty iron, tussocks grow on top and roosting skuas keep watch over the surrounding king penguin colony. It is a picturesque sight.

The door bolt is rusted shut, but expeditioners can peer in the grubby window at a dark, decrepit interior festooned with penguin-moult feathers caught up in spider webs — very atmospheric. Feathers from moulting penguins can be found everywhere, as we know from doing our weekly communal clean-up duties. It is amazing how they can sneak through the tiniest crevices in buildings.

Some people, and most or all of the MIPEP team, will also have seen its pair, the little old hut at Lusitania Bay just north of the king penguin colony. The huts are old Walrus aircraft engine packing crates, put in place in 1949. They served as field huts for many years and still could have, no doubt, except that the king penguin colonies at Sandy Bay and Lusitania Bay overtook them both and they were abandoned in favour of the new huts at Brothers Point and Waterfall Bay. There is the upturned wreck of an old DUKW (precursor to the LARCs) below Lusitania hut on the beach, which ended up there after a misadventure in 1951.

I’ve had the pleasure of staying in the Sandy Bay hut for many nights — up until 1995 — and the distinctly less pleasurable experience of staying in the Lusi hut for the odd night. The Sandy Bay hut was really snug, best for one person but possible for two (the second bunk was built fairly close to the roof) and just possible for another body on the floor if they scrunched up.

Legend has it that Geof Copson, who was a Parks and Wildlife ranger on Macquarie for a number of years in the 1970s and 1980s, renovated the bunks so that the hut was really only comfortable for one person. He spent so much time there that someone carved a sign reading ‘COPPO’s PLACE’ to put up over the door, and when Geof finally spent his last winter on Macquarie, he put up a ‘For Sale’ sign outside in the cold-porch.

The Lusi hut was really only an emergency shelter and was damp, dark and smelly, with rats as the permanent residents. There was no cold-porch, so you had to enter in your muddy boots, crouching low down to get under the iron bands around the outside walls. Sleeping bags were kept in a plastic drum, and there was an old kerosene heater and primus, a few tins of food, and an HF radio in a box. I came the closest I’ve ever gotten to getting carbon monoxide poisoning there, up on the top bunk trying to keep out of the way while my two companions wrestled with the kero appliances — not nice — nausea and a swimming sensation in the head.

I loved the Sandy Bay hut and spent at least a few days there every month during my year here in 1990, as I was doing regular plant measurements on the slope above the king penguin colony. I was there during a big earthquake once — all the tins of spam and peas fell off the shelves, but the hut didn’t move. However, apparently it did move during a big easterly storm in 1978, and the story is in the old hut logbook — the hut was tilted and turned 90 degrees and filled with sand, but it was restored and renovated soon after. The only annoying thing was the rats scratching in the walls at night. The inside walls were lined with tin and you couldn’t get to them. That would not be a problem now, since eradication of the rats, but sadly the Sandy Bay hut has now been inherited by the feathers and the cobwebs.

Jenny Scott

Sandy Bay hut with rusted cross support bars on the outside. It sits at the base of the tussock covered slope of the escarpment with hundreds of adult king penguins in front of it
The historic hut at Lusitania Bay sits amongst hundreds of king penguins. Behind the penguin colony the tussock covered slope of the escarpment can be seen. Also amongst the penguins is the upturned axel and wheels of the wrecked DUKW
View of the Sandy Bay hut from the slope of the escarpment, with king penguins in the mud behind the hut and the bay in the background. The hut walls have rusted cross-members and the small open cold porch can be seen on the left. There are several tussock plants and grass are growing on the roof. In front of the hut a lone king penguin is walking through the mud
Lusitania Bay Hut and wreck of the axels and wheels of the DUKW (left foreground). Both relics are surrounded by king penguin adults and a creche of brown down covered king penguin chicks. The steep and rugged tussock covered slopes of the escarpment are in the background
Timber walled Sandy Bay hut — the rusted metal cross members can be seen on the outside walls. The roof is covered with tussock plants and grass. A skua can be seen on the roof overlooking the vast king penguin colony beyond the hut
Cold porch of the Sandy Bay hut. There is a rusted steel cross-member and the panels of the wall are covered in mould, moss and cracked, fading dull yellow paint. The floor is covered in dirt and feathers from the moulting penguins

Some revealing bird bands…

Over the years, many birds have been banded on Macquarie Island as part of various research programs and ongoing population monitoring activities. These metal or plastic bands have no impact on the birds themselves, however they provide invaluable information on the survival and breeding success of many of Macquarie’s threatened bird species. Banding activities are administered by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme (ABBBS) who maintain a record of all birds banded under their authority. This year, we’ve had a few particularly interesting sightings of banded birds around the island.

Without doubt, one of the highlights of the summer has been observing the wandering albatross nesting in the southwest part of the island. This massive bird is listed as endangered under Tasmanian legislation and typically less than ten eggs are laid on Macquarie each season. In November each year, chicks are banded with a unique band prior to fledging. This is done by the albatross team in the hope of re-sighting these birds in a number of years when they return to Macquarie to breed or if they show up in another sub-Antarctic breeding location.

This season I’ve been lucky enough to assist Jaimie and Kate with band-reading of returning adults, helping to build up a history of known individuals, their survival and their breeding success.

Earlier this month a darker juvenile was spotted cruising above the Amphitheatre and Caroline Cove, however attempts to read its leg band ended in frustration for a number of days. Finally I managed to sneak through the tussock close enough to read the band, while it was distracted by an attractive male. Checking the band number in the database I discovered that this bird had actually been banded as a chick by a good friend in 2009 as part of the DPIPWE albatross program, in the exact location where I had now observed it over four years later! Wandering albatross don’t typically reach maturity and return to breed until they are 7–8 years of age — prior to this they wander the southern ocean and will likely circumnavigate the globe a number of times. Amazing to think what it has seen and experienced since it was last seen at Macquarie. This youngster was likely learning from the more mature adults this season and it will be a number of years before it will find a partner and produce an egg of its own.

In January a brown skua was found in the Amphitheatre with a metal leg band — a little surprising as nobody could recall any skua banding activities occurring on Macquarie. After a few tries the band details were obtained and the details sent to the ABBBS, who were also confused as they had no details of any bands being placed on skua in Australia. After a bit of legwork however, the band was eventually traced, with the result a little unexpected. It turns out that this bird was banded in August 2011 by the Southern Ocean Seabird Study Association in the Tasman Sea east of Wollongong, NSW — over 2300 km from Macquarie Island! This represents the first banding and recovery record of brown skua in Australia, and provides valuable insight as to where these birds may travel during winter when most depart the island to forage elsewhere.

Earlier last year Chris (Ranger in Charge) found a freshly-dead northern giant petrel on the west coast with a metal band. Again, the ABBBS worked their magic and traced the band back to 1978, when it had been placed on the bird as a nestling by AAD scientists. Unbelievably, 35 years, 4 months and 3 days after it had been banded, this bird was found just one kilometer from where it hatched! This demonstrates the incredible site fidelity of this species and the importance of protecting known nesting areas.

And finally, Fridgy and Goldie spotted a royal penguin in the small Bauer Bay colony in January with a flipper tag. The boys immediately justified taking their heavy telephoto lenses into the field and managed to capture photos that enabled us to read the band details. A quick check with the ABBBS revealed this male penguin had been banded on Macquarie in January 1994 by University of Tasmania researchers, making it at least 21 years old. It was great to see it in such good condition and, once again, amazing to think of the challenges this bird has faced since banding all those years ago.

Kris Carlyon, Wildlife Ranger

The money shot. Leg band on a wandering albatross. The view is a close-up of the underside of the bird showing its legs with a band with the number 212 clearly showing on its right leg
The dark juvenile wandering albatross that has returned to the island this season. He has grey feathers on his chest and mottled grey on his neck and body, while his wings are almost black in colour
The same wandering albatross as in the previous photo, when it was banded as a chick in November 2009. Its head and upper body can be seen poking above the brown grass. It still has some of its white down feathers
The darker juvenile clearly impressed by a displaying adult, which has its black tipped white wings fully extended and its head and neck are also extended. They are standing on a grassy field with rugged hills in the background
Two adult wandering albatross get aquainted above Caroline Cove. A band is clearly visible on the bird on the left. They are on a grassy ledge which has tussock grass on both sides. In the background the sunlight streaks through the cloud (crepuscular rays) forming bright spots on the ocean offshore from Caroline Cove way below
Banded skua in the Amphitheatre, over 2300km from where it was banded. It is staining on a grassy patch of ground, with the silvery coloured band clearly visible on its right leg

Marine debris – final words for 2013/14

A whole year has passed since we arrived here. Many expeditioners have contributed to the removal of plastic marine debris off the beaches.

A selection of the marine debris collected from around the station isthmus and nearby beaches is shown in the nearly full cage pallet. It is a sad reflection of modern life in the plastic age.

There is always more to do and hopefully the new Macca team can hit the beach running, so to speak. Around the island are small caches on isolated beaches that will eventually need to be consolidated before being flown out.

Volunteers for the monthly Bauer Bay Beach cleanup are always welcome. Ranger Chris organises this activity and the more participants the merrier, so join Chris at Bauer Bay and also enjoy the great breads he can bake.

The most common marine debris item seen at the BB cleanup is the braided fishing line from long line fishery. Hundreds of pieces of this green line wash up every month. A sample of the marine debris collected from the monthly Bauer Bay cleanup is shown below.

Waiting for the new group of winterers are several items to collect. There is already a large tangle of rope north of Bauer Bay that needs to be removed. Additionally a large cache at Unity Point will need some attention during the year.

All the best — the environment will thank you.

Clive Strauss

Nearly full cage pallet of marine debris including plastic bottles, rope and styrofoam.
Bauer Bay — site of the monthly marine debris clean up. The photo is taken from a ridge well above the beach, showing part of the western featherbed, Bauer Bay, then Mawson Point beyond the bay
Chris and Kris in the Bauer Bay Hut counting pieces of green braided fishing line. There are 3 separate piles of the green fishing line
Debris stash at Unity Point, consisting of several different coloured fishing floats, black plastic bags filled with smaller pieces of rubbish and a large block of styrofoam — still to be collected
Clive and Chris walking lines up and down Bauer Bay beach, picking up marine debris during a monthly cleanup. Each is carrying a black plastic bag and wearing their yellow wet weather gear
A piece of the green braided fishing line wrapped around a rock on the coast near Boiler Rocks
Chris, Barry and Clive with the marine debris they picked up along the east coast south of Cormorant Point. There are four black plastic bags in front of the them, filled with green fishing line, bits of plastic, plastic bottles and several different shaped and coloured fishing floats
Rope pile on the rocky beach north of Bauer Bay — still to be collected. The nylon rope is dark blue in colour and approximately 25mm in diameter
Kris, standing side on somewhere on the west coast with a block of styrofoam strapped to the back of his pack. He is staining on the featherbed beside a large rock stack. The block of foam is half his height and approximately 40cm wide
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