Gould’s Petrel chick on Cabbage Tree Island

Amy Harris of the Office of Environment and Heritage (National Parks & Wildlife Service) with a fledgling Gould’s Petrel from nest B400 on Montague Island.

At its lowest point during the early 1990s, the Australian ­population of Gould’s petrel dwindled to 250 breeding pairs –  the species met each October at a breeding location off Port ­Stephens, NSW, on a rugged ­outcrop called Cabbage Tree Island.

Amy Harris of the Office of Environment and Heritage (National Parks & Wildlife Service) with another fledgling Gould’s Petrel from nest B399 on Montague Island.

They gathered to produce about 50 chicks, most of which would not survive to maturity. The species was slowly becoming extinct.

In response, conservationists sprang into action to restore the island’s natural balance.

Montague Island, NSW, an area known as “the gut”, where the first recorded Gould’s Petrel chick from Montague Island was found in 2013.

The species has even spread to Montague Island, and is continuing to thrive.

Adult Gould’s Petrels on Cabbage Tree Island.

The program was a success, and ongoing monitoring suggests there are now more than 1000 breeding pairs, producing about 450 chicks a year.

Adult Gould’s Petrels on Cabbage Tree Island.

Gould’s Petrel chick on Cabbage Tree Island

Gould’s Petrel egg amongst leaf litter on Cabbage Tree Island

Dean Portelli of the Office of Environment and Heritage (National Parks & Wildlife Service Ranger) participates in the annual (2014) Gould’s Petrel surveys on Cabbage Tree Island.

Nicholas Carlile of the Office of Environment and Heritage participates in the annual (2014) Gould’s petrel surveys on Cabbage Tree Island, banding chicks so they can be identified during future surveys.

Dean Portelli of the Office of Environment and Heritage (National Parks & Wildlife Service Ranger) participates in the annual (2014) Gould’s Petrel surveys on Cabbage Tree Island.

Nicholas Carlile and Dean Portelli undertaking the annual (2014) Gould’s Petrel surveys on Cabbage Tree Island in the northern gully