The use of automated systems to record the identity of individual penguins and their movements in and out of a colony can provide an effective means of studying penguin biology remotely. In 2002 an automatic gateway was installed at the only access point to the Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) colony at Fairy Point, Bird Island. Taking advantage of the colony's geography, which ensured that the birds have only one route between the colony and the sea, the gateway initially recorded bird identities from implanted radio frequency identification transponders (RFID tags). In 2009 a weighbridge was installed which records the weight of each bird and the direction of travel and from 2011 onwards the two systems, RFID antenna and weighbridge, were built into the same unit meaning it was now possible to confidently match the crossing data with bird identities.

The diets of Grey-headed Albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) and Black-browed Albatross (Diomedea melanophris) have been monitored on Bird Island since 1986. This dataset comprises data on composition of diet samples (crustaceans, cephalopod and fish) and measurements of krill carapaces, fish otoliths and squid beaks found in the samples. These measurements are used to estimate the length and weight of krill, fish and squid that have been consumed.

The diets of Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) have been monitored on Bird Island since 1989. This dataset comprises data on composition of diet samples (Crustaceans, Cephalopod and fish) and measurements of krill carapaces, fish otoliths and squid beaks found in the samples. These measurements are used to estimate the length and weight of krill, fish and squid that have been consumed.

Monitoring of Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) nests on Bird Island began in 1958. It was carried out sporadically until 1976 when annual monitoring, including nest counts and estimations of breeding success, began in earnest. There are 25 defined areas on the island, and the number of nests has been recorded in each area since 1976. Additionally, from 1989, the hatching and breeding success has been monitored.

Monitoring of Black-browed Albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) and Grey-headed Albatrosses (Thalassarche chrysostoma) in various colonies on Bird Island began in 1976. Data are available for the number of nests for each colony per year. More detailed information is available for selected colonies including the number of eggs laid and chicks hatched and fledged from 1989 onwards. An estimation of the total number of pairs on the island each year using a correction factor, and annual breeding success is also available.

Platform Transmitting Terminal (PTT) tags have been used to track Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus), Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) and King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) from South Georgia since 2004. PTT tags use the ARGOS satellite system to collect geospatial data. These tags are deployed on a project-by-project basis and so data are not available for every year. Included in the dataset is data from females recorded during long, post-laying foraging periods as well as from fledged birds.

This dataset comprises the breeding success of 100 northern rockhopper penguins at Nightingale Island (37 deg 25 S, 12 deg 28 W: 4 km2), Tristan da Cunha in 2016. The data provides information on nests throughout the breeding season. This information supports the ongoing conservation work at Tristan. Data were collected by project personnel as part of the Darwin Plus funded Project Pinnamin (grant DPLUS 053), 2016 - 2018.

Geolocators (Global Location Sensing - GLS) were attached to northern rockhopper penguins breeding on Nightingale Island (37 deg 25 S, 12 deg 28 W: 4 km2) with the aim to study the species' dispersal in the inter-breeding period, 2017. This data successfully augments and complements existing datasets for the species breeding on Nightingale Island and enhances understanding of the species' distribution at sea throughout their annual cycle. There are four different data types for each penguin a) the unprocessed light sensor data, b) the unprocessed activity (wet/dry) data, c) the unprocessed temperature data and d) the estimated positions using the BAStag and SGAT packages in R. Data were collected as part of the Darwin Plus funded Project Pinnamin (grant DPLUS 053), 2016 - 2018.

Between September to December 2016, Global Positioning System (GPS Pathtrack) data loggers were attached to breeding northern rockhopper penguins during the three distinct stages of the nest-attendance part of their breeding cycle; incubation, brood-guard and creche, on Nightingale (37 deg 25'S, 12 deg 28'W; 4 km2) and Inaccessible (37 deg 17'S, 12 deg 40'W; 14 km2) Islands. This tracking data successfully augments and complements existing data sets for the species breeding in the South Atlantic, which enables systematic identification of areas of particular relevance for this species, and thus to help determining whether there is a need to improve marine spatial planning in form of e.g. Marine Protected Areas in the island's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Data were collected as part of the Darwin Plus funded Project Pinnamin (grant DPLUS 053), 2016 - 2018.

Three hundred adult northern rockhopper penguins, Eudyptes moseleyi, and 100 chicks were implanted with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags in the breeding season 2016/17, and 130 adults in 2017/18 on Nightingale (37 deg 25'S, 12 deg 28'W). To monitor annual survival two automated PIT readers were installed on each of the main pathways penguins use to commute between the sea and their colonies. There are two files comprising a) the list of PIT tags implanted and b) the reader crossings during from September 2016 to January 2018. Data were collected as part of the Darwin Plus funded Project Pinnamin (grant DPLUS 053), 2016 - 2018.