Volunteers counted 46 little penguins on Granite Island

Volunteers and researchers counted 46 adult little penguins on Granite Island in the 2026 island-wide census. ABC News reported the tally on October 31, 2026. That is 10 more adults than last year and 16 more than in 2024. The island, about 25 hectares, once held more than 1,000 birds. The colony fell to 26 in 2012, and it reached its lowest point in 2020 after a fox attack. ABC linked the earlier crash to the millennium drought and weaker freshwater flows to hunting grounds near the mouth of the Murray River.

Associate Professor Diane Colombelli-Negrel of Flinders University added up the Friday search. Dozens of people took part, including National Parks and Wildlife officers, students, and residents of Victor Harbor, the town that looks out over the island. They looked for birds, chicks, and signs a burrow was active: droppings, feathers, a fishy smell, and tracks through the grass.

She said the colony's breeding season now runs as long as nine months, up from about 6.5, and that the reason is not fully understood. It may be that pairs are trying to fledge two chicks in a season. The birds also go through a full moult, losing every feather and staying on land for about three months without feeding at sea. South Australia has federal approval to vaccinate wild little penguins against bird flu, including birds on Granite Island, but a department spokesperson said the timing still depends on breeding and moulting. The jabs have not started.