Little blue penguins settle at Lyall Bay - beside dog-friendly beach

Monday, 20 August 2018

Last year, penguins were spotted near Wellington's Lyall Bay beach, which is open to dogs.

Two little blue penguins have settled at Wellington's Lyall Bay, but their new beach neighbourhood is a popular stomping ground for dogs - the penguin's largest threat.

The busy coastal suburb is also home to construction work for a new carpark, and the removal of an old one.

Forest & Bird Lower North Island regional manager Tom Kay said the organisation was concerned for the penguins' wellbeing.

'Lyall Bay is a really popular area for people exercising their dogs.

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Two little blue penguin have been spotted in Lyall Bay, but there's concerns for their safety. (File photo)

'It's this time of year in particular when the penguins are starting to breed, and it's really important that people control their dogs.

'It's not worth the risk,' Kay said.

The warning has come after a leopard seal appeared to have been attacked by a dog in Porirua at the weekend.

The little blue penguin, the world's smallest penguin, has a declining population in areas not protected from predators.

Department of Conservation considers dogs to be their greatest threat, but cats, ferrets and stoats could also pose a danger.

Last year, Te Motu Kairangi Miramar Ecological Restoration called for dog owners to be responsible for helping to protect penguin in urban areas after an adult bird was found dead at a Wellington reserve.

The penguin had most likely died by dog attack, it said.

Kay said this time of year, people should be keeping their dogs close, even in the areas considered free to roam.

Lyall Bay resident Stefan Prentice, the man who first spotted the two penguins, said he had never seen them in the area in the 18 years he had lived there.

'I was surprised to see them there.'

He saw them across the road from Spruce Goose, very close to where the new carpark is being constructed.

Little blue penguin have had to change their nesting places as the urbanisation of Wellington has spread, and have been known to have been found nesting in pipes, backyards and under homes. (File photo)

Prentice said he was more concerned about cars in the area, not dogs.

'With the work going on around that area, I think nesting boxes would be suitable.'

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said there were nesting boxes at Moa Point and Dorrie Leslie Park, but there were no plans to have boxes in Lyall Bay.

'Given the risk to penguins from dogs, we wouldn't be encouraging nesting boxes on this stretch of beach and wouldn't put nest boxes on the other side of a busy road as that puts the penguins at significant risk.'

The council had received reports of penguins nesting in the breakwater, amongst the rocks at Lyall Bay, he said.

'We urge people to keep a close watch on their dogs when they're off-leash on Lyall Bay beach – as we do anywhere on the coast or around the harbour.'

Kay said as urban Wellington had developed, the penguin became more frequently nesting in stormwater pipes, under homes, and in backyards, and have been known to walk hundreds of metres to nest onshore.

The penguins would often return to their birthplace, he said.

'If they come back two or three years later to nest and there's a house or a road, that really affects how they will nest.'