Petrels of Macquarie island
Petrels that are found on Macquarie Island include:
The Antarctic Petrel: This bird has chocolate brown and white wings that stretch out to a massive 100-110cm and have a white tail with a brown tip. They feed mostly on krill, small fish and crustaceans and are found frequently sitting in flocks on the edge of icebergs in which they nest and breed on. They can be commonly seen in colonies of up to thousands of birds with the highest recording being over 200,000 pairs. They breed once a year between October and November and lay a single elongated ovoid egg in the nest they use each year. The incubation and nestling time for an egg is usually 45-48 days. Adults do not have any predators and the only danger to the eggs are from freezing when rolling out of the nest or from thievery by skuas.
The Cape Petrel: The Cape petrel is from a distance looks spotted black and white with completely black head, bill, legs and tail. Their under wing is mostly white with black margins and most of their underparts are white. They are found on Antarctica and around sub-antarctic islands near New Zealand. Cape petrels eat mostly krill, squid and small fish and persistently follow fishing boats to collect up scraps that are discarded. They lay a single white egg between November and early December and since they are unable to recognize their own egg they can sometimes be seen hatching Snow petrel eggs instead of their own. The Cape petrel is one of the least concerned when it comes to conservation status with the only predation being when feral cats or rats get into breeding colonies.
Common diving petrel: These petrels have a dark blueish black upper body and white lower body with short rounded wings, black bill and dark blue legs. They are found in the subtropic and sub-antarctic waters and more commonly seen in Southern Australia and New Zealand. The average lifespan of a common diving petrel is usually no more then 3-4 years due to the fact that swamp harriers, kelp gulls, skuas and giant petrels take a large amount of the species each year and yet the population of Common diving petrel is quite large and still increasing. Common diving petrels eat mainly marine crustaceans and nest in burrows that range from 25-150cm in length, 20cm-1m in depth and 5-8cm in diameter.
Northern giant petrel: The Northern Giant petrel is a dark grey bird with whitish face, chin and spotted white head, breast and neck, that can be found in southern Australian and South African waters during winter and spring. They breed on sub-antarctic islands (including Macquarie Island) but do not breed in Antarctica. They are one the least concerned species of petrels when it comes to conservation status with their overall population increasing due to their only treats being when they are chicks from desertion, being trampled upon by adults or predation from skuas. Northern Giant petrels lay one egg after arriving in their colonies between August and September. The male attends to a larger portion of the incubation and guarding the of chick then the female does. Chicks are fledged between February and March. The Northern Giant petrel has a very diverse diet that consists of krill, squid, fish, small seabirds, marine mammal carcasses, seal pups, penguins and albatross. However they rely heavily on fish during winter.
Southern giant petrel: The southern giant petrel comes in two colours; dark greyish-brown and white, the white coloured petrels make up around 5% of the population. The rest of the population has a dark-brown body and wings, whitish neck and head and speckled brown chest which looks quite similar to a juvenile northern giant petrel. They are found breeding on Antarctica, Antarctic peninsula and sub-Antarctic island including Macquarie, Heard, South Georgia and Marion Islands. The Southern Giant petrel weighs between 3.8-5kgs with the females weighing a little lighter then the males . They have a wingspan of about 1.8-2.1m and a body length of up to 1m. There are no known threats to the southern giant petrel other then freezing in the cold whilst still an egg. The Southern giant petrels arrive to breed in September, eggs are laid in October and hatch in late December. The diet of a southern giant petrel includes: Krill, squid, fish, other small seabirds, and carcasses of marine mammals but there is a large difference between what each gender prefers to eat, females prefer live prey from the sea like krill of squid and males prefer feeding on carrion or carcasses.
Snow petrel: The only parts of a snow petrel that are not completely white are the pitch black eyes and beak and the bluish-grey feet. They are found all around the islands of the Southern, Antarctic and South Georgia Oceans. The Antarctic Snow Petrel is hardly ever seen outside of the freezing waters of the Antarctic and are often seen sitting in flocks on the edge of icebergs, pack ice and ice floes. They are more commonly seen in colonies on cliffs near the sea but are occasionally spotted nesting inland and although some of the birds in the colonies stay all year round the main influx of of the petrels come between mid-September and early-November. Snow petrels make their nests in deep rock crevices that have a small amount of overhanging protection for the eggs. A single white egg is laid in late November-Early December. Incubation takes around 41-49 days and once hatched the chick is brooded on for eight days but still remains in the nest for another 7 weeks. Chicks and parents leave the nest between late-February and mid-May. The only predation to the Snow petrel is from South Polar Skuas and is why the petrels tend to fly extremely high when over land and ice but low when traveling over the sea. The only other danger the the Snow petrel is when eggs get trapped in nest by heavy snow and the parents abandon the chicks, and is why they are least concerned when it comes to conservation status. Snow petrels eat mainly fish, squid, krill and some forms of mollusk. They have been known to feed on seal placenta and the carcasses of dead whales, seals and penguins.
Wilson's Storm petrel: The Wilson's Storm Petrel is a brown bird with a wing span of around 40 cm and a length of 18 cm when in flight with their long legs projected behind their tail. They also have an obvious white rump and pale brown strip going across the middle of their tail. They are found breeding on Antarctica and around the sub-antarctic waters of the Southern and Tasman oceans below Australia and New Zealand. They come to breed in their colonies between November/December and eggs are laid in mid December. The two parents share the 39-48 day incubation time and take shifts of around 48 hours. Chicks are then fed for irregularly for around 52 days and fledging happens around April/May. The Wilson storm petrels populations are large and so they are least concerned when it comes to conservation status. They feed by flying along the surface of the ocean and submerging their large bill or head to scoop up fish, squid and crustaceans which are present near the surface of the water. They also follow fishing boats and trawlers looking for left overs from the ships catch. The only danger to the petrels are when they are eggs and are killed by skuas or become stuck in their nest because of heavy snow fall and then starve.
The Antarctic Petrel: This bird has chocolate brown and white wings that stretch out to a massive 100-110cm and have a white tail with a brown tip. They feed mostly on krill, small fish and crustaceans and are found frequently sitting in flocks on the edge of icebergs in which they nest and breed on. They can be commonly seen in colonies of up to thousands of birds with the highest recording being over 200,000 pairs. They breed once a year between October and November and lay a single elongated ovoid egg in the nest they use each year. The incubation and nestling time for an egg is usually 45-48 days. Adults do not have any predators and the only danger to the eggs are from freezing when rolling out of the nest or from thievery by skuas.
The Cape Petrel: The Cape petrel is from a distance looks spotted black and white with completely black head, bill, legs and tail. Their under wing is mostly white with black margins and most of their underparts are white. They are found on Antarctica and around sub-antarctic islands near New Zealand. Cape petrels eat mostly krill, squid and small fish and persistently follow fishing boats to collect up scraps that are discarded. They lay a single white egg between November and early December and since they are unable to recognize their own egg they can sometimes be seen hatching Snow petrel eggs instead of their own. The Cape petrel is one of the least concerned when it comes to conservation status with the only predation being when feral cats or rats get into breeding colonies.
Common diving petrel: These petrels have a dark blueish black upper body and white lower body with short rounded wings, black bill and dark blue legs. They are found in the subtropic and sub-antarctic waters and more commonly seen in Southern Australia and New Zealand. The average lifespan of a common diving petrel is usually no more then 3-4 years due to the fact that swamp harriers, kelp gulls, skuas and giant petrels take a large amount of the species each year and yet the population of Common diving petrel is quite large and still increasing. Common diving petrels eat mainly marine crustaceans and nest in burrows that range from 25-150cm in length, 20cm-1m in depth and 5-8cm in diameter.
Northern giant petrel: The Northern Giant petrel is a dark grey bird with whitish face, chin and spotted white head, breast and neck, that can be found in southern Australian and South African waters during winter and spring. They breed on sub-antarctic islands (including Macquarie Island) but do not breed in Antarctica. They are one the least concerned species of petrels when it comes to conservation status with their overall population increasing due to their only treats being when they are chicks from desertion, being trampled upon by adults or predation from skuas. Northern Giant petrels lay one egg after arriving in their colonies between August and September. The male attends to a larger portion of the incubation and guarding the of chick then the female does. Chicks are fledged between February and March. The Northern Giant petrel has a very diverse diet that consists of krill, squid, fish, small seabirds, marine mammal carcasses, seal pups, penguins and albatross. However they rely heavily on fish during winter.
Southern giant petrel: The southern giant petrel comes in two colours; dark greyish-brown and white, the white coloured petrels make up around 5% of the population. The rest of the population has a dark-brown body and wings, whitish neck and head and speckled brown chest which looks quite similar to a juvenile northern giant petrel. They are found breeding on Antarctica, Antarctic peninsula and sub-Antarctic island including Macquarie, Heard, South Georgia and Marion Islands. The Southern Giant petrel weighs between 3.8-5kgs with the females weighing a little lighter then the males . They have a wingspan of about 1.8-2.1m and a body length of up to 1m. There are no known threats to the southern giant petrel other then freezing in the cold whilst still an egg. The Southern giant petrels arrive to breed in September, eggs are laid in October and hatch in late December. The diet of a southern giant petrel includes: Krill, squid, fish, other small seabirds, and carcasses of marine mammals but there is a large difference between what each gender prefers to eat, females prefer live prey from the sea like krill of squid and males prefer feeding on carrion or carcasses.
Snow petrel: The only parts of a snow petrel that are not completely white are the pitch black eyes and beak and the bluish-grey feet. They are found all around the islands of the Southern, Antarctic and South Georgia Oceans. The Antarctic Snow Petrel is hardly ever seen outside of the freezing waters of the Antarctic and are often seen sitting in flocks on the edge of icebergs, pack ice and ice floes. They are more commonly seen in colonies on cliffs near the sea but are occasionally spotted nesting inland and although some of the birds in the colonies stay all year round the main influx of of the petrels come between mid-September and early-November. Snow petrels make their nests in deep rock crevices that have a small amount of overhanging protection for the eggs. A single white egg is laid in late November-Early December. Incubation takes around 41-49 days and once hatched the chick is brooded on for eight days but still remains in the nest for another 7 weeks. Chicks and parents leave the nest between late-February and mid-May. The only predation to the Snow petrel is from South Polar Skuas and is why the petrels tend to fly extremely high when over land and ice but low when traveling over the sea. The only other danger the the Snow petrel is when eggs get trapped in nest by heavy snow and the parents abandon the chicks, and is why they are least concerned when it comes to conservation status. Snow petrels eat mainly fish, squid, krill and some forms of mollusk. They have been known to feed on seal placenta and the carcasses of dead whales, seals and penguins.
Wilson's Storm petrel: The Wilson's Storm Petrel is a brown bird with a wing span of around 40 cm and a length of 18 cm when in flight with their long legs projected behind their tail. They also have an obvious white rump and pale brown strip going across the middle of their tail. They are found breeding on Antarctica and around the sub-antarctic waters of the Southern and Tasman oceans below Australia and New Zealand. They come to breed in their colonies between November/December and eggs are laid in mid December. The two parents share the 39-48 day incubation time and take shifts of around 48 hours. Chicks are then fed for irregularly for around 52 days and fledging happens around April/May. The Wilson storm petrels populations are large and so they are least concerned when it comes to conservation status. They feed by flying along the surface of the ocean and submerging their large bill or head to scoop up fish, squid and crustaceans which are present near the surface of the water. They also follow fishing boats and trawlers looking for left overs from the ships catch. The only danger to the petrels are when they are eggs and are killed by skuas or become stuck in their nest because of heavy snow fall and then starve.