Friends of Lillico Penguins

Friends of Lillico Penguins is a Wildcare group that assists Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service in managing and educating visitors to the Little Penguin Viewing Platform at Lillico Beach Conservation Area near Devonport.

Latest Penguin arrival time and numbers

Where we work

The Lillico Beach Conservation Area, located 6km west of Devonport along the Bass Highway, is a narrow coastal reserve stretching 2.5km and covering 14 hectares. The landscape features a shingle terrace and a unique low-tide 'beach’, where an eroded basalt platform reveals rock pools teeming with life. Lillico Beach also serves as a vital wildlife corridor, linking bushland between the Don and Forth Rivers.

What we do

Friends of Lillico Penguins (FOLP) guide visitors at the Little Penguin Viewing Platform during the penguins' breeding season, which runs from late September through to April/May. Our volunteers share insights about the penguins and host Q&A sessions, while also monitoring penguin and visitor numbers to track changes over time. If you would like to join us as a volunteer, please make contact through the information below.

With the support of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service we maintain and upgrade the platform’s infrastructure and lighting as needed. In 2025 FOLP was successful in receiving a Wildcare Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund Grant to replace the penguin barrier fence along the Bass Highway – read the update on this project here.

Volunteering Tasmania - Video of Lillico Penguin guide

Little Penguin Viewing Platform

Lillico is home to hundreds of breeding pairs of little blue penguins (Eudyptula minor). An accessible viewing platform with specially designed lighting allows visitors to watch the penguins return from the sea and settle into their burrows during the breeding season. Every night from September to May volunteers from the Friends of Lillico Penguins are on site to guide and share their knowledge.

Visiting the platform is free, though donations by cash or card are warmly welcomed. Donations go towards platform lighting maintenance, guiding equipment, revegetation, weed control, feral cat management, and penguin rehabilitation and care.

Penguin counts are updated daily on a whiteboard at the site throughout the season, and shared regularly via the Little Penguins Lillico Tasmania Facebook page.

Viewing Guidelines

Please read and observe any information signs and follow the instructions of volunteers on site to minimise the impact to penguins.
Wear warm, dark clothing for camouflage, and bring wet weather gear.
Remain quiet and keep movement to a minimum. Penguins have excellent vision and easily spot movement, especially if they see you outlined against the sky.
No personal torches. Only authorised guides with specially designated torches are permitted. There are also fixed red lights around the platform.
Flash cameras, including flashlights on mobile phones, should not be used. Please also dim the screen brightness on your mobile phone to keep light on the platform to a minimum.
Do not visit a colony with dogs (or cats). They are a major threat to penguins. Even if dogs are leashed their smell remains to attract others. Take your food scraps away as these also attract dogs and cats.
There are no public toilets. The nearest public toilets are at Turners Beach or Forth Recreation Ground
There are no rubbish bins at the platform. Please take all rubbish with you.

Information on Little Penguins is available at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania website. Information brochures translated into several languages are available on request by emailing info@folp.info.

Volunteering with us

Volunteering with FOLP mainly involves guiding at the viewing platform and sharing information about little penguins with visitors from around the world. Roles can also include, weeding, planting, litter collection, or behind the scenes support such as updating online content and rostering.

New guides receive training and ongoing support from experienced volunteers. To learn more about joining us, please email volunteer@folp.info .

Our Contacts

For further direct information about our group:

Volunteering: volunteer@folp.info

General contact: info@folp.info

Friends of Lillico Penguins

NW Tasmania Penguin-Guide Training 2021