Melbourne: Penguins at the St Kilda pier

One of the best things in Melbourne is that you can see penguins every night just off the pier in St Kilda. If you arrive shortly before the sunset, a huge crowd will be already on the pier. Shortly after dusk, the first birds arrive from their busy day of fishing in the sea. The volunteers around can tell you a lot about the life of the penguins and they also have red flash lights that gives you a good view of the penguins without disturbing them too much.

They estimate that currently about 200 birds found their home in the boulders of the pier. How many you will see coming home depends a lot on the season. We went in December and January, when most birds mould for a month and due to the lack of insulating feathers, they don’t go the ocean and stay between the rocks. Thus, the number of birds was usually not more than 5 to 10. However, if you hang out a bit, more birds will pop up on the boulders, greeting the homecomers and enjoying the evening. Definitely a must-do in Melbourne!

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