St Kilda Penguin Viewing Experience

Opened in December 2024, the new penguin viewing platform has created an additional 150 metres of protected habitat by fencing off the old breakwater entrance. This change might look simple, but it makes a big difference for the colony.

In the past, hundreds of people would line the breakwater each evening, waiting to catch a glimpse of the penguins. The narrow pathway left very little room for the penguins themselves, forcing them to weave through crowds of visitors or delay their journey back to their burrows.

Now, with the entrance closed and access carefully managed through the new platform, the penguins can return safely to shore without disturbance. Visitors still enjoy excellent viewing opportunities, but from a purpose-built space that keeps both people and penguins comfortable. The platform balances two important goals: protecting vital wildlife habitat while still allowing the community to connect with and appreciate these remarkable little birds.

Little penguins may be the smallest of all penguin species, but they possess an impressive range of natural abilities that help them thrive in the waters of Port Phillip Bay.

💨 Powerful Swimmers

With rapid wingbeats of up to five times per second, little penguins move through the water with remarkable speed and agility – faster than an Olympic swimmer.

🌊 Expert Divers

They dive hundreds of times each day in search of food, reaching depths of up to 72 metres as they pursue small schooling fish.

😎 Triple Eyelids

Equipped with three eyelids and the third being see-through acting like natural pair of googles. This allows penguins protect their eyes while seeing clearly underwater.

🥶 Feathered Armour

Each bird has around 10,000 densely packed feathers, creating a waterproof, insulating coat that keeps them warm in chilly seas.

🎶 Distinctive Voices

In the middle of a bustling colony, little penguins rely on their unique calls to recognise their partners and chicks.

🌟 Natural Camouflage

Their blue backs blend with the dark ocean depths, while pale bellies disguise them against the bright sky, helping them avoid predators above and below.

🤧 Salt Filters

They have special glands filter out salt from the seawater they swallow, and the penguins expel it with a sneeze.

🌊 Why Are Penguins in Port Phillip Bay?

St Kilda pier might seem like an unlikely place for penguins to call home, but for these small seabirds it’s the perfect base.

🐟 A Bay Full of Food

Port Phillip Bay is a rich feeding ground. Each year, schools of fish arrive to spawn, and during winter the bay becomes a nursery for young anchovies. This creates a reliable food source right on the penguins’ doorsteps. As one of the Phillip Island Nature Parks scientists describes it, this is 'the prey taking itself to the predator'. An extraordinary example of wildlife adapting to thrive in an urban bay.

Visitors to the St Kilda Penguin Viewing Experience will never see the entire colony at once, because little penguins live very busy lives. Each penguin follows its own schedule, depending on factors like foraging needs and breeding stage.

Here’s what they get up to when they’re not tucked away in their burrows:

🌊 Ocean Explorers

Around 80% of their lives are spent at sea, often staying offshore for three to four weeks at a time. They rest on the water’s surface between dives as they search for food.

🌅 Safe Return

As the sun sets and predators like pacific gulls and white-bellied sea eagles settle in for the night, penguins gather in small groups called 'rafts'. They come ashore in small groups of five to seven, usually as close to their own burrows as possible to save energy.

🏡 Evening Rituals

Back on the breakwater, the colony comes to life. Penguins call to their partners, clean their feathers and socialise with their neighbours before disappearing into their burrows for the night.

✨ A Unique Experience

No two evenings are the same. Every night brings a new glimpse into the secret lives of these remarkable little penguins.

Unlike most penguin colonies, the neighbours in St Kilda aren’t just silver gulls and seals, they are people, boats, and bright city lights. Living so close to humans brings both benefits and challenges. The human-made breakwater provides protection from big waves and predators, but the colony also faces threats from plastic pollution, fishing lines, pets, and human disturbance.