Kororā Penguin Nest Box Interior

Inside a Penguin Burrow

This camera looks straight into the nesting chamber of a purpose-built box on Wellington's Evans Bay waterfront, an unusually intimate vantage point compared to the typical entrance-facing wildlife feed.

Meet the Kororā

The kororā, or little blue penguin, is the smallest penguin species on Earth, standing barely thirty centimetres tall. Breeding pairs favour snug, sheltered burrows and nest boxes close to the shoreline, where they raise their chicks between trips out to sea to fish.

Round-the-Clock Infrared Monitoring

The box is fitted with an infrared-equipped camera so the colony's activity can be followed continuously, regardless of ambient light levels, without disturbing the birds with a visible light source.

A Conservation Partnership

The nest cam is run by a coalition of conservation and research partners dedicated to protecting the urban penguin colony on Wellington's harbour, turning a hidden nesting chamber into a public window on native wildlife.