Little penguins

2025–26 breeding season updates

By Kat McNamara, Research Officer

Currently, 38% of monitored burrows across the Penguin Parade area are showing breeding activity, with little penguins incubating eggs, and in both guard and post-guard stages of chick rearing. The average number of little penguins crossing the beach each evening at the Penguin Parade fluctuated from a low of 592 in July, to a high of 1,121 in October.

In November, the Phillip Island Nature Parks' Research team were surprised with an albino little penguin chick being hatched at one study site. This is the first confirmed case of albinism in little penguins recorded on the island, although instances of leucistic little penguins have been documented previously. The chick is entirely white and exhibits the characteristic features of true albinism, including pale, pink-toned skin, beak and eyes. While remarkable, this condition presents challenges as the absence of protective pigmentation can increase susceptibility to UV exposure and predation, and individuals with albinism often experience reduced visual acuity. As we continue to monitor this study site into December the chick has not been seen again and is presumed to have died.

Little penguin weights recorded on the weighbridge have remained above the long-term average for most of the year but dipped below average during the post-moult period, when little penguins return to sea after spending several weeks on land without feeding. This temporary decline reflects the natural loss of body condition associated with moulting, after which birds begin to regain weight when they resume foraging at sea.