Project to attract Kermadec Petrel to Lord Howe Island gains funding

The return of the Kermadec Petrel (Pterodroma neglecta) to Lord Howe Island has received $200,000 through the NSW Government's Environmental Trust.

NSW Department of Planning and Environment Threatened Species senior scientist Nicholas Carlile has been working with rare seabirds along the Australian coastline for the past 20 years.

He said seabirds can play a vital role in the ecology of remote locations, including islands.

Lord Howe Island is part of the Port Macquarie electorate and is a World Heritage site.

The Kermadec Petrel used to breed on Lord Howe Island about 100 years ago, however they were unable to survive after rodents and other pests were introduced.

The timing is now right to bring the species back to the island, due to the successful implementation of a rodent eradication program in 2019.

Mr Carlile said the only place the Kermadec Petrel still breeds at is Ball's Pyramid, which is situated 20 kilometres southeast of Lord Howe Island.

It's the world's tallest sea stack at 551 metres.

"Kermadec Petrel breed in the top third so they're pretty impossible to study," Mr Carlile said.

It's Mr Carlile aim to attract the Kermadec Petrel back to Lord Howe Island, where they'll be able to breed in larger numbers than the available habitat on Ball's Pyramid.

"Its species name is neglecta because it's been neglected for about 100 years and we know so little about it," he said.

"I'm trying to make it less neglected and in the process get a really rare bird back onto Lord Howe."

For the last six years Mr Carlile has been studying the species at Phillip Island, off Norfolk Island.

He said the experience has allowed him to learn about the biology of the bird, create makeshift habitats where it can breed and discover ways to fend off any potential predators.

The Kermadec Petrel nests on the surface, rather than in burrows like other birds in the petrel family.

They also have a strong sense of where their home is, which is usually where they've fledged from as a chick.

"It's a real trick to convince them that home could be somewhere else," Mr Carlile said.

Mr Carlile said he will use a sound-attracting machine, that will give the birds a love song and draw them to the mainland.

"Some people call them a love machine because I've used them on other species as well, to draw birds into new colonies," he said

Mr Carlile is relying on an egg collector's documents from 100 years ago to figure out where the Kemadec Petrel used to nest on Lord Howe Island.

From what he's read from the documents, He believes the back of Mount Gower will provide an ideal habitat.

He wants to find an area which can be accessed by researchers and allow the birds to breed successfully.

Recently the population of Woodhens has boomed on the island.

However, Woodhens also enjoy eating the eggs of the Kermadec Petrel.

"My trick is to find a nesting location for the Kermadec Petrel that the Woodhens don't use," Mr Carlile said.

Mr Carlile said Kermadec Petrel is one of many seabird species he's aiming to get back to the island,

"It's actually critical to the ecology of the island because of the marine-derived nutrients they bring in," he said.

The project will start in October where Mr Carlile and others will survey locations at Lord Howe Island. The whole project will run over three years.

IN OTHER NEWS: