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Rockhopper Penguins
 | Picture:Rockhoppers, New Island, Falklands.23 Dec 1989.
Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome)
Rockhoppers are one of several species of crested penguins, others being macaronis, New Zealand Fjordland crested penguins. There are said to be at least 3 subspecies of rockhoppers. They are a sub Antarctic species found in the Falklands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Island, South Georgia, Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Island, Kerguelen Island, Heard Island, tristan Da Cunha, Beauchene Island and other sub Antarctic islands. They range from South America to the South Shetlands. There are estimates of 3.7 million world-wide with one million on the Falklands. Rockhopper numbers over the last 40 years have declined drastically in some areas. For example those on Campbell Island have fallen 40% from 1.6 million to 103,000.
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A Devilish Look
 | Picture:coming back from krilling.You can tell from the pink under the flippers. New Island, Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
They have white fronts, black backs and heads, pink feet and yellow crests on the head. Yellow feathers slanting near the eyes give them a devilish appearance. Their eyes are red and their feet pink. They are about 22 inches (56cm) high and weigh about 3kg (6.6lb).They feed on krill, fish and squid. |
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Champion Hoppers
 | Picture:A Rockhopper in Hopping Mode. New Island. Falklands.23 Dec 1989.
As the name suggests they do a lot of hopping but also walk. A typical pose when hopping is with flippers held back and head pushed forward to aid balance.
They can jump a metre or more out of the sea onto the land and hop more than their own height.
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Nesting Above Rocky Cliffs
 | Picture:Nesting Above High Cliffs with King Shags. Falklands, New Island. 23 Dec 1989
They can scale precipitous slopes and can climb 200m in less than 20 minutes. Those nesting on high cliffs may climb up 2 or 3 times a day in nesting season. The penguins have been using the same sites for millennia and where they climb up steep cliffs grooves have been worn in the rocks over the centuries due to their sharp claws. |
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Noisy Neighbours
 | Picture:Black Browed Albatross and Rockhoppers Share Nest Sites. New Island. Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
To me they are like puffins, comical and busy.
On the Falklands they share their breeding colonies with king shags and black browed albatross. The noisy, raucous manic little rockhoppers contrasted strongly with the black browed albatross sitting serenely and quietly on their pillar nests amidst their noisy neighbours.
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A Nest Among Rocks
 | Picture: A Nest in Rocks High Above the Sea. Rockhopper Parents and Chick.New Island. Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
They start coming back to their nest sites around 10 October and start breeding straight away. They nest on rocks and ledges or make small scrapes in the ground, which they line with grass and pebbles. They lay two eggs at the beginning of November, usually laying at night with the male standing guard during the laying process to protect his mate and the eggs. As with other crested penguins they lay eggs of different sizes and the first, smaller one does not usually hatch. Laying is an exhausting process and the female may go to sleep once the egg is safely under her. |
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An Ever Watching Predator
 | Picture: There are Always Great Skuas, Giant Petrels or Cara Caras with Beady Eyes on the Rockhopper Colonies, Seeking Prey. This is a Great Skua. New Island. Falklands.23 Dec 1989.
Great skuas and cara caras are two of the predators that try to steal eggs or chicks and cara caras will hover over the penguin trying to frighten her off the nest to take the eggs. |
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Guarding the Chick
 | Picture:Well Guarded Rockhopper Nests and Chicks. New Island. Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
The female incubates the eggs for about 35 days being relieved now and then by the male so she can go back to sea to feed for a few days.
If the weather is wet and cold the nests can get wet and the eggs can get cold and fail. There have been times when bad weather has caused thousands of chicks and eggs to die.
Chicks start to appear around 11 December and once they have hatched the parents take turns, one guarding and feeding the chicks while one goes to sea to feed.
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Changing Shifts
 | Picture: Rockhopper Greeting Ceremony when Parents Change Shifts. New Island Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
Every day at the end of the afternoon the penguins return to change duties. The parents call to the chicks and they recognise each other’s voices. The chicks call and beg for food by pecking the parent’s beak. This prompts the returning parent to regurgitate partially digested krill into the chick’s throat. The chicks put their heads into the parent’s throat to take the food. The chicks, replete, then go to sleep with the parent covering them to keep them safe and warm. Chicks are a fluffy dark grey. |
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Nests, Chicks & Black Browed Albatross
 | Picture: Rockhopper Nests, Chicks & Black Browed Albatross. New Island. Falklands. Dec 1989.
Surprizingly if the weather is too warm they can get overheated and will lie flat on their tummies with their feet stretched out behind them and flippers spread out with beaks open to pant.
When the chicks are about 4 weeks old and about 10 inches tall they group into crèches so that both parents can go to sea for food to satisfy the chick’s ever growing appetite. The crèches can be quite small, about 6 chicks, or large with about 60 and there are always some adults about to help protect the chicks. In all the breeding cycle is 35 days incubation, 26 days brooding and 70 days fledging.
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A Perilous Landing Stage
 | Picture: It was a High Climb to the Nests from the Landing Stage. A Leopard Seal was Patrolling the Shoreline for a Meal. New Island. Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
It is not an easy job coming back to the shore as the parents face predators like the leopard seal or orca which patrol the landing sites, and they can be battered by waves and rocks when trying to leap out of the sea. They time their landing with an incoming wave but can be swept back to sea and then have to try again. |
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An Inquisitive Rockhopper
 | Picture: This Rockhopper Pecked the Wellie. It was not in the Least Intimidated by these Huge Interlopers! New Island. Falklands. 23 Dec 1989.
In the second week of February last year’s chicks who have been feeding out at sea return to the colony to moult for about 4 weeks. At this stage they are no longer waterproof and cannot go out to sea to feed so they become quite thin and it is a miserable itchy time for them. As their new feathers grow they preen them with oil from their oil gland at the base of their tail till they are waterproof again.
At this time this year’s chicks start to move down to the shore and wait in groups, till fully fledged and waterproof and encouraged by the adults they too take the plunge into the cruel sea with all its hazards.
Towards the end of April, beginning of May all the penguins have gone and the nest site is empty till next season.
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