Summer 2011 - Welcome!

In this issue: Tour News, Wildlife News, Around the Island
Our Website: www.montagueisland.com.au

Area Manager says:

Montague Island! It's never been more accessible - and getting there is half the fun as this January photo shows!
If you haven't been out for a while, the coming autumn may be just the time to enjoy a day trip, or join a hosted "Penguin Survey Stay" or get a group together for a "Self-guided, Self-catered Stay". Pic - MW
Explore all the options at www.montagueisland.com.au.

Since our last newsletter much has happened out on the Island.

We have completed infrastructure works such as:
• building a new aluminium communications tower in the area behind the solar panels and removing the old steel tower between the buildings.
• finalising the solar power panels, system and batteries.

We have received funding to renovate and upgrade the Middle Quarters into accommodation for overnight visitors, and works have commenced on this project. This will also involve some changes to the northern quarters as well, as well as slight changes to the way our half-day tours are conducted.

The Seabird Habitat Restoration Program continued with both 2010 areas planted and nest boxes installed. We now have the central section of the southern part of the Island to be gradually treated over the next few years.

Regular half-day tours & overnight tours continued, although wet and heavy weather during December and January has had a significant affect on participant numbers.

Our hosted overnight "Montague Island Nature Escape" tours have been successfully monitoring 140 Little Penguin nest boxes since June and seasonally progressive results can be followed on our website.

Our field staff, rangers and tour guides have been working steadily to keep things on the Island humming along and our thanks to them all.

Preston Cope - Area Manager Central

Overnight Tour News

Our two overnight products - Hosted Penguin Survey Tours and the Self-Guided Tours - continue to develop.
We have had many people ask us if they can go out as a couple and stay a night or two in the accommodation on their own. Unfortunately the logistics and expense of getting just two people out there and back, not to mention the cleaning and laundry, makes it too difficult at this time. Perhaps in the future we will be able to do this. That 9km offshore doesn't look far but it really is a remote Island.

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Penguin Survey Tours

Since planning and developing the concept with our Scientific Branch and then doing the ground work to get it started, we have been surveying almost weekly since July 2010. We now have a body of data covering the whole Little Penguin breeding season on Montague.

With about 140 nest boxes being surveyed in the project, we can track individual breeding success as well as getting a broad view of breeding habits over the areas studied.
Tour participants check a nest box. - pic S. Cohen.

Some interesting stats (dates are survey dates - the actual event may have occurred during that week):
First egg... 22/7/10
First hatched... 1/9/10
First fledged... 26/10/10
First second-clutch of eggs... 6/11/10
First moulting adult... 27/1/11

Participants doing the survey have enjoyed the experience immensely, and feedback is very positive. It is hoped to continue this for the foreseeable future. See the survey graph and a video: Penguin Survey

Day Tours:

Our visitors have have enjoyed the many faces of Montague during the year. Heavy weather in December and again in January caused many cancellations, but the calmer Autumn waters should see an improve.

A highlight for the NPWS team was presenting tours to visitors from the MV Orion which anchored just off the Island and ferried 75 of its passengers ashore in rubber Zodiacs. Wagonga Land Council's Elders provided a Welcome to Country and their staff also provided a local Aboriginal perspective adding much to our tour. This will be something we will build upon in the future.
MV Orion visits Montague - pic R. Constable

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Wildlife News:

WHALES: Our 2010 Humpback Southern Migration whale watching season was another amazing event - feeding humpbacks, mothers and calves and spectacular surface behaviours. Every year we marvel at the increase in numbers and enjoy our interactions with them both on the boat trips to and from Montague and from the Island itself.
This sequence of stills is taken from a movie on our website where you'll find many pictures, videos and even audio taken over the years during our tours. pic MW.

SHEARWATERS: Not so good news for the Shearwaters this year. Firstly they were greeted by extremely heavy weather along southern Queensland and northern NSW coasts, then those that survived that buffeting were hit by our own locally rough weather. They died in their thousands (most likely from exhaustion), and then onshore winds pushed their corpses onto beaches along the entire coast. The millions of Shearwaters that come to our waters to breed each year are incredibly hardy flying many 1000s of kms each year just to get here, so let's hope the breeding season turns into a good one for them. The 52nd Shearwater Survey will take place on Montague in the last week of March. You can download Shearwater information from our website.
Shearwaters washed up on Narooma's Bar Beach - pic MW.

SEALS: This year since late October we have progressively seen 6 Australian Fur Seal pups and 7 New Zealand Fur Seal pups born and survive on Montague. There were also some which didn't survive. We now also have well over 300 seals staying right through the summer out there. Many of our overnight visitors have taken up the option of a snorkel with the seals while staying on the Island. It really is a wonderful thing to do in the (usually) clear blue waters of the Island. Pic - MW

GULLS AND TERNS: A spring/summer visit to Montague has the continuous background noise of nesting Silver Gulls and Crested Terns. This year was no different - the gulls courting and pairing up in August/early September before nesting on the hill with the first eggs around September 20. The Crested Terns came up to their nesting site after courting in a much more spread out few weeks than in previous years. In fact there are still Tern chicks out there too young to fly this year. What a treat to watch the parents fly in to deliver fresh-caught fish to their young in all that chaos! Video of the Terns nesting on our website.
Pic - MW

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Other News:

COMMUNICATIONS TOWER CHANGES: The rusty old tower that was between the Head Keeper's house and the First Assistant Keeper's house has been replaced by a smaller aluminium version. The new one is over behind the solar panels. This work was done by our NPWS staff - well done everyone. Old/new - pic MW

POWER SYSTEM UPGRADE: New solar panels and new batteries are now all in place. The panels are housed on a new aluminium frame which should stand up to the harsh conditons out there.
This seagull checks out one of the panels before it was installed. - pic MW.

MIDDLE QUARTERS CHANGES: Following receipt of NPWS Heritage Asset Revitalisation Program funding, work has begun to convert the middle quarters to new accommodation for overnight visitors. NPWS is actually returning the building's usage back to what it once was after being a museum for some 20 years or so. Many of the museum's pieces will remain as part of the decor inside. Work is expected to be completed by June this year. Most of the work is done by local trades with the assistance of our NPWS staff where appropriate.
This provides an opportunity to review our range of tours and accommodation and to this end a new business plan is being prepared. This will see new product added with the increase in available accommodation, guide staff being located on the Island during peak visitation times, more opportunity for visitors to have hands on experiences and potential opportunities for multiple local charter boat operators to be involved in the tours.

SEABIRD HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECT (SHRP): 2011 will see work begin on treating the middle section of the Island to remove Kikuyu grass. This area, which roughly circles the Light Station will be done in small sections beginning this year. Work will continue to take place in previously treated zones, as there is always the risk of reinfestation. Many visitors who have not been for some years marvel at the changes SHRP has brought, with areas that were once kikuyu monocultures now supporting a variety of shrubs and trees.

SYDNEY-HOBART RACE: Buffeting southerlies kept the yachts close to shore and very close to Montague. Usually they are wide or have gone past during the night. Heavy going! Pic - MW

FROM THE VISITOR'S BOOK:
" Thank you very much for a wonderful few days. We all had a great time and enjoyed the experience (again!)" The Eden Family, January 2011

" Great food, excellent accommodation, friendly helpful guide, opportunity to take part in penguin survey, spectacular rugged scenery, wildlife. Thank you."
Survey 5-7 November 2010

" All shades of weather in our weekend helped make this a truly unique experience" Survey 15-17 October 2010

NEXT ISSUE: WINTER 2011

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