Earthwatch 2005 Project: South African Penguins
Diary of Team 3
Day 1, Monday, May 30, 2005
Staff and volunteers met at a restaurant at The Clock Tower in rainy and chilly weather. After lunch, four of us proceeded to be very sick from food poisoning (bad fish). Our ferry ride to the island was also delayed by 3 hours, and passengers were treated to sparks flying out of one of the stacks during the ride. Knowing that conditions could only get better, we are looking forward to an exciting and productive two weeks.
Day 2, Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunny and clear skies delighted us this morning. Chris, Sue, Susan, Arleda, and Shannon met Mario Leshoro at his office. The entire group surveyed nesting areas on the Cornelia Road and Kramat rounds.
The volunteers took turns scripting the survey and gently prodding nesting adults to reveal their chicks and/or eggs. We surveyed forty-four nests. Shannon and Susan later entered the results into the database. Mario noted that the number of nests we checked today was more than half of the total number of nests.
Chris, Sue, Susan, Arleda, and Shannon did a game count beginning at 4:00 PM of large mammals and rabbits. We spotted fallow deer, springbok, steenbok, bontebok, and ostrich. We're looking forward to spotting the eland next time.
Chris is doing a braai for us this evening, which without a doubt will be a highlight of the day.
Day 3, Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Last night's storm caused high wind and heavy rain. We had gone to bed expecting to encounter stormy weather again this morning, but the sky was clear for most of the day. We met Mario at his office and set off to check more nests on the North Perimeter Road. Unlike yesterday, most of the nests were near the sea and we were able to see swimming penguins.
After the nest survey, we drove to the pier on which four subspecies of cormorant can be viewed and where bank cormorants nest. Due to high seas and water on the pier, however, Chris decided to postpone the nest survey of the bank cormorants until another day.
After lunch, we split into two groups positioned at two observation points to survey the number of penguins, pedestrians, cars, and other influences on how penguins cross roads. We also tried to retrap existing tag numbers. Sue and Shannon were at the Lepers Cemetery on Beach Road. Susan, Arleda, and Chris were at Cornelia Road.
Rain and high winds began again after we arrived back at the EW house.
Day 4, Thursday, June 2, 2005
The ferries did not operate today due to high seas and wind this morning, and Mario could not join us. Chris, Shannon, Sue, Susan, and Arleda opened ten new nests in the Kramat round. We then used GPS coordinates to follow-up on five nests that had not been checked on Perimeter Road on May 31.
We did a rabbit count in the afternoon.
Day Five, Friday, June 3, 2005
Chris and Mario decided that today would not be a good day to check nests due to rain and wind. We instead went on a tour of the prison, which was a goal of all of the volunteers on this trip. We spent the afternoon and evening catching up on computer entry.
Day Six, Saturday, June 4, 2005
Day off. Shannon left the group to continue working on her penguin project.
Day Seven, Sunday, June 5, 2005
Day off. Marienne joined the group.
Day Eight, Monday, June 6, 2005
We joined Mario at his office and broke into two groups to check nests. Chris, Mario, and Sue checked the Kramat round and Marienne, Susan, and Arleda checked the Cornelia Road round. The nests that were checked included old nests and the new nests that were created on June 2.
Another cold front is due later today or tomorrow, so we decided to finish as many projects as possible today. In the afternoon, all of us went to the pier on which bank cormorants nest, and due to restrictions only Mario, Sue, and Marienne walked out onto the pier and approached the nesting areas. Marienne used a ladder to photograph the nests on top of the shelter at the end of the pier and at map the nests' locations and contents.
We again split into two groups to do molt counts of molting adults and molting blues and juveniles.
Marienne, Susan, and Sue also did a game count. We were thrilled to sight the eland and a very large herd of fifty-nine fallow deer.
Day Nine, Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Chris, Sue, and Susan did a wader count on one half of the island and Marienne, Mario, and Arleda did a wader count on the opposite half of the island. Shortly after beginning the courts, both groups encountered oiled penguins near the harbor. Chris captured an oiled adult. His group turned the bird over to a SANCCOB worker and the bird was transported to SANCCOB on the next ferry. Marienne's group spotted an oiled juvenile and an oiled adult. The juvenile was captured and transported to SANCCOB. The adult was captured later in the day and will be taken to SANCCOB tomorrow.
Chris and Marienne checked nests in the afternoon.
Nola Parsons joined us for dinner and presented a Power Point presentation on the Treasure oil spill. She was prepared to treat the oiled adult bird and administered Darrow solution to it three times before transporting it with her back to SANCCOB on Wednesday morning.
Day Ten, Wednesday, June 8, 2005
We were again delighted to be greeted this morning with a clear sunny sky after a torrential storm last night. The weather fluctuated throughout the day, however, and it was rainy and cold by 5:00 PM.
We included Nola in our team in the morning and split into two groups to check nests in the Kramat, Cornelia Road, and Perimeter Road rounds.
Marienne and Chris had opened some new nests on the Perimeter Road yesterday and these nests were checked today as well.
We did beach clean-up after lunch in an area near the hide, then divided again into groups to do road crossing counts, retraps, and data entry.
Chris, Marienne, and Arleda found another oiled penguin, captured it, and treated it with Darrow solution. It will be kept at the EW house until it can be transported to SANCCOB tomorrow morning.
After dinner, Marienne treated us to a fascinating Power Point presentation of one of her expeditions to Marion Island, featuring Emperor, Macaroni, and Rockhopper penguins, Wandering Albatross, and Marienne's hike around the perimeter of the island.
Day Eleven, Thursday, June 9, 2005
Chris left the group this morning and Marienne, husband, Andre Fourie, joined us.
Marienne, Andre, Susan, and Arleda conducted a nest survey in the morning by sweeping a nesting area and charting active and potential nests.
In the afternoon, Mario and Sue closed three nests and updated the status of another nest on Cornelia Road.
Susan, Marienne, and Arleda checked and photographed the bank cormorants' nests on the pier.
Sue, Susan, Marienne, and Andre conducted a rabbit count. We enjoyed seeing plenty of bontebok, fallow deer, and springbok on the way, and there was a nice photogenic moment of seeing the ostriches line up with their backs to us and one of them 'mark his territory' as only ostriches can. As Marienne remarked, “Thank goodness they can't fly.”
We wrapped up data entry on our projects and started house clean-up in the evening.
Day Twelve, Friday, June 10, 2005
Shannon will return on Robben Island in the morning to continue working on her project.
The volunteers will go back to Cape Town to continue their adventures. Sue will leave on Saturday and return to Texas on Sunday, Susan will stay for two more days to enjoy Cape Town before returning to Oregon, and Arleda will travel around Cape Town and then continue on to an Earthwatch project on meerkats before returning to Hawaii.
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