Penguins of St Kilda

The St Kilda Pier in Melbourne, Australia is home to a colony of the tiniest penguin species known as the Eudyptula minor.
It is the same species of penguins found on Phillip Island and they were first spotted making their homes among the rocks of the breakwater in 1974.
Unlike Phillip Island, this is not a managed park but there are volunteers around to help manage the crowd as well as to answer any questions you may have about these little creatures.

The penguins can be found all year round and generally come in after sunset.

While I didn’t get to see a whole bunch of penguins waddling towards me after dark, I did catch a few among the rocks.

Waiting for the sun to set

People gathering to wait for the penguins

Volunteers with torches

Penguin spotted!

There it is!

Bring a jacket along as it gets chilly once the sun sets and if you are using your own torches, do use red cellophane paper in front of the lens as these birds see less in the red spectrum of light so it will not bother them as much.
Or just tag on to a helpful volunteer who would help you spot one.

Happy penguin watching!