From Egg to Fledging: Check out the footage below and learn about the different stages in the growth of a Little Penguin chick!
The Little Penguins here in St Kilda nest in burrows between the gaps of the volcanic rocks of the breakwater. Prior to laying an egg they will create an indentation in the ground by scraping material out with their feet and nails. They then fill the indentation with any vegetation and twigs that they can find. Our penguins here in St Kilda love using the native Saltbush as nesting material. Both parents will continue to contribute to building and maintaining their nest until the chick is born.
A Little Penguin clutch consists of a maximum of two eggs. These eggs weigh approximately 55g and will take around 35 days to hatch. Parents take turns incubating the white egg, which becomes stained as incubation progresses.
A newly hatched chick is covered in dark grey down with its eyes slightly open at just one day old. Unable to support themselves and regulate their own body temperature, the chick will spend most of its time keeping warm underneath its parents.
During incubation and until the chick is about 3-4 weeks old, the parents will conduct shifts, taking turns guarding their egg/chick. During this time one parent will guard the egg whilst the other heads to sea to feed. Little Penguins can eat up to 25% of their body weight daily, helping them survive the wait until their partner returns.
At this stage in the chick’s life (4-5 weeks old) they can survive on their own for longer periods of time, having developed enough to be able to regulate their own body temperature. Both parents are now needed to bring back food to support the chick’s rapid growth. The parents will therefore leave the chick unattended during the day, returning to the nest every 1-6 days to feed them.
Parents return at night to feed their chicks by regurgitating. Chicks begin calling for their parents at dusk, helping them find their way home. Chicks will rigorously beg for food from their parents at any time, especially when the parent has just returned from sea.
As they grow the chicks will slowly moult their down feathers and replace them with their waterproof, blue adult feathers.
When the chick is around 8 weeks of age they are considered to have ‘fledged’. At this stage they will leave their nest for the first time, heading out to sea to find food for themselves. Little Penguin chicks instinctively know how to swim and may not return to the colony for up to a year after first leaving.
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