An exciting week at Macca with the return of the royal penguins, and preparations are underway for arrival of the summer expeditioners.

Royal penguins are back!

The royals are back!

The royal penguins (Eudyptes schlegeli) have recently returned to Macquarie Island after spending the winter months foraging at sea. Four penguin species can be found at Macquarie Island — royals, kings, gentoos and rockhoppers. Royal penguins are the only penguin species that is endemic to Macquarie Island — it is the only place in the world where they live and breed.

The males returned in late September to claim nest sites, followed by the females in early October. Egg laying is expected from mid to late October and chicks will start hatching in late November.

Andrea Turbett — Ranger In Charge

 
Two royal penguins probably reunited recently — royal penguins generally pair for life
Two royal penguins returning to their colony after spending the winter months foraging at sea
A pair of royal penguins preening.
Hundreds of penguins on the hill — there’s always a lot of noise in royal penguin colonies and bickering with neighbours
Royal penguin colonies are dense — nests are less than one metre apart
A royal penguin gathering rocks for a nest.
Royal penguin colonies in the distance looking like black dots on the landscape.
A recently returned royal penguin at Macquarie Island

Preparing for summer — Macca pool table relocation

Spring has sprung at Macca, with the isthmus beaches full of female elephant seals and their pups. Spring is also the time for a bit of a spruce up around station and preparation for the incoming summer team.

With the swelling of station numbers, our little mess area will be a bit crowded, so some shuffling of furniture was required: Team ‘tradie’ to the rescue with their expertise, muscle and machine power to relocate the pool table.

With precision execution, the pool table was dismantled, maneuvered through the cold porch, and slung by the JCB over to its new home in the Macca Post Office building.

IKEA flat pack skills were put to great use as it was reassembled with only a couple of spare bits left behind!

Jan Wallace — Expedition Doctor

Moving a very awkward and heavy pool table out of the Macca mess
Re-assembling the Macca pool table — IKEA skills put to good use!
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