WA Seabird Conservation Network

Today is World Penguin Day, and we’re shining a spotlight on one of our smallest and most charming seabirds, the Little Penguin, also known as the fairy penguin 🐧💙

Found only in Australia and New Zealand, these tiny penguins rely heavily on sound to navigate and find prey while diving.

But across many colonies, little penguin numbers are declining, with growing pressures from habitat loss, climate change and increasing human-made noise, including vessel traffic and coastal activity.

Our Species Survival Guide features research by Dr Chong Wei from WAMSI partner Curtin University, exploring how sound shapes little penguin behaviour and why protecting their acoustic environment is critical to their survival.

Want to learn more? Download the full Species Survival Guide here 👉 https://tinyurl.com/ysy74z92

Looking for printed copies for your classroom or organisation? Get in touch at [email protected]

Let’s celebrate and protect these remarkable little penguins and the coastal habitats they depend on 🐧

Curtin University

Today we celebrate World Penguin Day, but our very own Little Penguins in Rockingham need your help.

Penguin Island was once home to more than 1,500 penguins in 2008. There has been a devastating decline of 94%, with estimates now under 100 individuals. Little penguins face a range of threats from both human activity and natural causes. These include habitat loss, disturbance from people, boat strikes, marine polution, predation by introduced animals, disease and the growing impacts of climate change. Many of these threats can be reduced with help from the community.

Things you can do:

1/ Share these graphics to help build awareness.

2/ Call for better protections for the species: bit.ly/Save-Little-Penguins

3/ Report any sick, injured or dead penguins via the Wildcare Helpline: (08) 9474 9055



Graphics courtesy of Red Cloud Design - earth healing

Handy numbers to save on your phone...

Numbers for your phone 📲 Please add them now or save the image.
If you ever need to report an injured, stranded, or entangled animal what really helps as well is photos, and a google maps pin drop.
All three services are answered by volunteers.

King penguin's arrival in WA prompts 'high-level' biosecurity response The king penguin, known for being the second-largest penguin species and living on ice-free parts of the sub-Antarctic, was rescued near Esperance on WA's south coast.

Four Little Penguins, also known as Fairy Penguins, have been found exhausted on beaches in the Great Southern.

Carol Biddulph is an animal rehabilitator and told Peter Barr on Regional Mornings that she took these penguins into her care.

"They've all been found absolutely exhausted on the edge of the ocean, mostly Cheynes Beach, Bremer Bay and in Middleton Beach," she said.

She said they were extremely underweight, "most of them less than half of their normal weight".

"Poor little critters, none of them have made it," she said.

Carol said this is the hard part of wildlife rehabilitation.

"No matter what you do, these birds have just gone past the point," she said.

You can find WA Regional Mornings with Peter Barr on ABC listen 🎧 https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/wa-regional-mornings

New protections for 15 migratory seabirds that call Australia home.🐦

Last week at in Brazil, we co-sponsored new listings under the Convention on Migratory Species for:

• the flesh-footed shearwater
• 14 gadfly petrel species and subspecies.

The listings mean:

• stricter protections
• habitat recovery
• safer migration routes
• better international cooperation.

These intrepid winged explorers are important for our biodiversity. They help:

• enrich Australian soils
• support healthy vegetation
• contribute to marine ecosystem health.

We’re proud to work with countries around the world to protect the wildlife that connects us. 🌏

Find out more at the link in our comments.

Celebrating the breeding success and community stewardship of Australian Fairy Terns in Mandurah 🐥🥳

Our most sincere thanks to the long list of people who played a role in protecting this important colony. 400 breeding pairs with high chick production is a tremendous outcome 🤩🙌

: H5 bird flu has been confirmed in Gentoo Penguins on Heard Island. This is the first time the virus has been detected in birds in an Australian territory.

H5 bird flu has devastated bird and wildlife populations overseas, and it remains to be seen what effect this outbreak will have on the island’s endemic bird species – the Heard Island Cormorant and the Black-faced Sheathbill.

Despite being 4,000 km away, this detection on Heard Island is a clear warning: Australia must be prepared.

Our work at BirdLife Australia helps ensure Australian bird populations will have the resilience to recover from the effects of H5 bird flu. Habitat protection and reducing threats to birds are a critical part of preparedness.

If you find any sick or dead birds, do not touch them. Instead, call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888. Find out more about H5 bird flu at our hub here: https://birdlife.org.au/h5n1-avian-influenza/

We will update you with more information as we have it.

📸 Benjamin Bogusz