Organised with Phillip Island Nature Parks, the vaccination program has been made possible through a partnership between Earthcare St Kilda and Parks Victoria.
Co-leading the program, Flossy described it as a major collaborative success. “It’s been a huge team effort from everyone, with a network of locals stepping up to lend a hand to make it happen,” she said.
A true community effort
“The support has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Flossy said.
Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron provided access to its tower, giving the team a crucial refrigerator for vaccine storage. St Kilda Sea Baths offered volunteers free parking, while the pier kiosk discounted food for the hardworking crew.
Port Phillip EcoCentre provided a workspace for a last-minute Boomerang Bags sewing bee, where volunteers made hundreds of specialised “penguin bags”.
One penguin at a time
The homemade bags help keep the birds calm and safe during vaccination. “Penguins are much, much calmer when they’re in a bag and they can’t see anything,” Flossy explained. To reduce the risk of transmitting bird flu between birds, the team uses a freshly washed and disinfected bag for every penguin.
The carefully managed process is designed to minimise stress:
- Catch and bag: A penguin is carefully taken from its nest or the rocks, placed in a bag and carried to the top of the breakwater.
- Scan and check: The bird is scanned for a microchip and its ID checked against the list of vaccinated penguins.
- Weigh in: If unvaccinated, the bird is weighed and its bill depth measured to help determine its sex.
- Vaccinate and tag: The penguin receives its vaccine, a temporary coloured foot marker for quick identification and, if needed, a microchip.
- Release: The bird is returned in its bag to the exact spot where it was caught and safely released.
Second dose critical in race against bird flu
With bird flu detected in wild birds around Port Phillip, the race to protect the colony is urgent. The first dose provides little protection on its own, making the second dose critical to building immunity.
Breeding season means the penguins are regularly returning to the breakwater, giving the team hope of a high recapture rate.
The program is structured across three rounds. After completing round one, the team will return three to four weeks later and vaccinate every penguin caught. A third round will focus on giving a second dose to birds that received their first vaccination in round two.
The intensive effort is also helping Earthcare St Kilda refine its estimate of the colony’s population, currently put at about 1,400 penguins.
For Flossy, 20 dedicated Earthcare volunteers and a flotilla of local supporters, the program is continuing decades of community-led conservation.
“It gives locals a meaningful way to fight back against environmental helplessness and protect their beloved colony.”
