Population ecology of the South Polar skua at Cape Hallett: 1967-1969

A swinging door type trap was constructed in order to catch and band adult skuas in the area, contributing to the international banding scheme at the time. A population census was conducted over the same three seasons.

In th 1960/61 season Maher (1961) reported that there were 181 pairs of skuas nesting at Hallett but only 113 pairs were found in the 1966/67 season, 105 in the 1967/68 and 98 pairs in the 1968/69 season. From studies on band returns and breeding success (including causes of mortality) of Cape Hallett skuas, it appears that the major reason for this decline is a high rate of adult loss from the population rather than an abnormally low breeding success.