jeffwwhite.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

In the Falklands/Malvinas my focus is understanding food web dynamics for native predators/scavengers and their interactions with both native seabirds and introduced mammals through tracking, stable isotopes, and fecal DNA. Looking forward to a great season over the next few months.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Spent some time sampling and admiring the penguins of Saunders Island last week.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't also post about all the fantastic penguins and shags I'm seeing (and also sampling) including a Northern Rockhopper that seems to have made a friend with one of the local Southern Rockhoppers. All this from just one island.

submitted 35 days ago • 1 comment

Last week I arrived in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas for field campaign #2 of the season. This time I'm focused on the foraging ecology of scavengers on islands +/- introduced mammals. Lots of GLS to deploy on skuas and of course lots of stable isotopes to come!

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Just a week ago we were packing and prepping for pick up from Antipodes Island. 2.5 months of exhausting field work flew by with this amazing team. Couldn’t ask for better people to study penguins with. Thanks for another great season @tawaki-project.org

submitted 68 days ago • 0 comments

Somehow 2.5 months on Antipodes has come to an end. We said goodbye to that stunning island and the incredible birds that call it home, and sailed back to the South Island. Hopefully expanding the work to other islands next season. 🐧🇳🇿#seabirds

submitted 71 days ago • 0 comments

Last day of streaming from the Antipodes Islands. We're going home tomorrow. tawaki.cam/antipodes

submitted 75 days ago • 0 comments

Ever wonder what a penguin colony sounds like at night? This is from our southern study colony on Antipodes. Our camp is located about 50 ft away so we get to hear (and smell) them all night long.

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

Crèching is imminent for the erect-crested penguin chicks. But being too big to fit under dad means that they are now exposed to the sun. On bright sunny days the colonies can get very warm, so the chicks resort to rather dramatic panting to stay cool. I’m sure they are relieved when night comes.

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

This big erect-crested penguin chick has figured out how to game the system. That’s not its dad beside it. This chick belongs to a neighbor. Over several days we watched it get fed by its mom and then waddle over to the neighbor and successfully get fed a second time by another chick’s mom.

submitted 78 days ago • 0 comments

It’s been a very rainy few weeks here on Antipodes. Many of the erect-crested penguin chicks are now too big to hide from the rain under their parents. They don’t seem thrilled by this new development.

submitted 84 days ago • 0 comments

In other skua news, the skua nest beside our main study colony has a very cute chick currently

submitted 87 days ago • 0 comments

We often stop for a break in this gully when crossing the central plateau of Antipodes Island. Thjs time we had the privilege of being visited by a very curious pair of skuas. They were busy testing our boots and packs for at least 20 minutes before we had to continue our walk.

submitted 87 days ago • 1 comment

Eastern Rockhoppers face a bleak future. Since the 1940s they have declined by 90% or more across their New Zealand range. Entire colonies have disappeared. Seeing the first chicks of the season really reminds me that they aren’t gone yet so we should keep fighting to protect them and their habitat

submitted 88 days ago • 0 comments

The first Eastern Rockhopper chicks are hatching here on Antipodes Island!

submitted 88 days ago • 0 comments

There's still room in this seabirder starterpack go.bsky.app/MPUTnm - please reskeet and let me know if you'd like to be included on this starterpack

submitted 89 days ago • 11 comments

Those crests are really stunning when they catch the sunlight.

submitted 89 days ago • 1 comment

While we were fighting to walk over the ridge in 40 knot winds, these northern giant petrels were having the time of their life. They really are amazing seabirds. #antipodesisland

submitted 89 days ago • 1 comment

Caught a sweet moment today while doing nest checks.

submitted 95 days ago • 0 comments

The erect-crested penguin chicks are growing fast. While the males stay home keeping the chicks warm and safe from skuas, the females go out to sea to find enough krill to feed themselves and their chicks. It looks like this chick’s mom is doing a great job so far.

submitted 95 days ago • 0 comments

You never quite know what might pop up on the island. This Canada Goose showed up last week in the penguin colony. They are a common introduced species on mainland NZ (it didn’t fly here from North America).

submitted 102 days ago • 1 comment

In our main study colony on Antipodes Island, many nests now have tiny chicks waiting for mom to come home and feed them some krill.

submitted 102 days ago • 1 comment

The erect-crested penguin colonies on Antipodes Island are getting busy. Females are returning from a quick foraging trip at sea, which always calls for an energetic greeting. Just in time too as the chicks are to starting to hatch.

submitted 102 days ago • 1 comment

A slightly befuddled resident of the Mirounga Bay North Erect-crested and Eastern Rockhopper colony.

submitted 458 days ago • 0 comments

Erect-crested penguins at the Orde Lees colony on Antipodes Islands in dizzying uniformity.

submitted 458 days ago • 0 comments

The Orde Lees Erect-crested and Eastern Rockhopper colony on the Antipodes Islands today. Feels like it may be more nests that last season but that needs to be confirmed. No signs of avian flu, thank god!

submitted 459 days ago • 0 comments

Our work on the Antipodes Islands has begun...

submitted 460 days ago • 0 comments