Phillip Island - Penguins

One of the main attractions in Phillip Island is the Penguin Parade which is when all the Little Penguins come to shore after their day out at sea collecting food for themselves and their chicks.

A Few Penguin Facts:
- The Little Penguin numbers are currently at about 950-1,000.
- They are the smallest species of penguin (hence their name - Little Penguin).
- They are the only species of penguin with a blue tint.
- The lowest number was 9 when the penguin's food source caught a virus and died off. The penguins altered their diet and their colony grew back to usual numbers.
- When eating the fish they eat some and it goes to their stomach. Some of it also goes somewhere between their throat and their stomach and this is the bit that is regurgitated for the chicks.
- A penguin parent will only feed it's chick, but the chick's try to get food from any adult penguin. The adult penguins will peck or step on any chick that isn't theirs that is trying to get food from them.
- The chicks make a high pitched sound, while the adults have a much bigger, stronger sound.
- The penguins leave their homes at dawn and return at dusk to keep from getting attacked by overhead predators. Because of this, the chicks are left at home all day waiting for food.
- The penguins come to shore in groups over the course of 2-3, so some chicks have to wait longer than others.
- The penguins know beforehand when they are going to molt so when out at sea they collect enough food to last them for 2-2.5 weeks. They then just sit in their homes for that time until they molt. They know they aren't waterproof during this time, so they know to prepare by eating more beforehand.
- There are almost always 2 eggs/chicks born each time.

Okay, now for my experience. I went with the family, but I did the Private Penguin Experience and they did the General Viewing. The PPE gives you a tour guide, binoculars, a headset to hear the guide, a comfy warm seat for the bleachers, front row seats as the penguins come out of the water and up the tracks to their homes, as well as access to the Penguin Plus platform where you have front row seats (could literally have reached out and touched them) to the main parade portion where there were easily 25-50 penguins at any given moment crossing in front of you.

Sitting on the bleachers we got to see the sun set over the water which was quite pretty. Coming out of the water the penguins were very cute because they would waddle out and then one would decide it wasn't time and they would turn around and quickly waddle back in. I think it's cool that they all know just where to come out and what track to go up and where to go from there to get to their individual homes. It was kinda sad, but also kinda funny at the same time to see the adult penguins step on the chicks' heads who were trying to get food from them but weren't theirs. For little guys they were really quite noisy and the guide said all that noise would continue way into the night.

Chick waiting at its burrow for its parents to show up