Hello friends and family The weather has returned to our normal sunny awesomeness and after the rain, the tree planting has begun. On Monday morning I picked up Monica, our new American volunteer from Palmerston and joy of joys, she eats a normal diet. She checked out the point in the morning and in the afternoon, we planted the first 10 Akeake trees. On Tuesday, after doing the rounds in the morning, we went to the Bluffs to check on the Whale. It was just a pile of bones – interesting bones, none the less. Wednesday was the day to take the scenic route to Oamaru – up the Kakanui river valley to the Elephant Rocks, down to the Waitaki river, which was magnificent and then to Oamaru. While Monica got the gear she needed for her upcoming tramp of the Routeburn Track, I got my ‘flu and COVID jabs. The Chemist in Oamaru did them both with no fuss and that was great. We carried on to check out the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony and caught up with Henry and his penguin news. We had lunch at the Boulders on the way home and Monica cooked dinner. The team came out on Thursday, and we did the monitoring rounds, finding Mrs 160 with a minor flipper injury but underweight so she came into care. We are doing a blitz on the traps at the moment and catching feral cats, rats and ferrets. Some traps have 4 different lures in them! In the afternoon we planted 12 Mountain Akeakes at the Bluffs. On Friday, Monica joined Bronwyn for a swim, and we all met at the Tavern for a meal of Blue Cod. Delicious! Yesterday was a wonderful day because Mrs 20 has come home. She is 3 weeks late to moult, but she is so welcome anyway. This leaves us with two missing females and one that we have no real evidence of, except feathers, I took Monica to Trotters gorge to find unicorn food in the afternoon. It was a great walk and enjoyed by us both. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family, The change of seasons continues to bring beautiful skies and wonderful light – we are hoping for rain! It is a pre-requisite for the new planting season. Young trees are gathering weeds and becoming root-bound – time to plant them out. The team came out on Tuesday, and all was well in the colonies. The task of the day was to empty the big freezer and use the chest freezers to save money on running costs. With everyone’s help it did not take long, but how embarrassing! I had supplies dating back to 2017. Fortunately, everything just fitted in the chest freezers, so there was no waste. It was my turn at the Toptip on Wednesday, and it was a quiet morning, but the big news is, there is now a toilet! Up until now, going to the loo was really off the agenda unless another worker turned up to cover. Now I will take a thermos and have a coffee mid-morning. What luxury! By Thursday morning, the predicted rain had not arrived and so we did the rounds, and, in the afternoon, Jan and I tackled a boxthorn while Robbie built some new houses and Murray sorted plants and traps. At 3pm it started to rain.
After two wet days, I am looking forward to doing the rounds today. Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family. The week started with average weather, but on Tuesday it was a cracker – warm, still, and beautiful. The team came out and we did the rounds – Mr. 8 had company, but we don’t know who she is. We brought in Mr. and Mrs. 16 and Mrs. 23. The 16s eluded us last season so I was very pleased that they both fed from the hand as that will keep handling to a minimum. We released the Kaikoura chick and an adult. This brought the number in care to 20. Jan stayed and cleaned 2 pens. On Wednesday, I did some weed spraying at the Hampden house and around here. I have used the electric lawnmower to mow the lawns here and it was very straight forward. Because I can turn it on and off without a fuss, it makes the whole job easy. I can complete the job on a single charge, so that is a plus too. The team came out on Thursday, and we did the monitoring rounds. Two penguins came in, a moulting adult and a returned fledgling that just needs a top up. Four penguins were released. There were some new moulters in the colony, but they are a great weight and don’t need help, despite being so late. We have passed 100 penguins in care this season with the current total at 103, including all species. The last few days have been a time for releasing penguins back to the wild. We now have 7 in care. We have used up all of the donated salmon smolt and it definitely showed in improved release weights. Thank you again, Alpine Salmon. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family – Happy Easter! This week started with a couple of road trips. I took an injured chick down to Dunedin on Sunday afternoon and picked up our wandering chick from Timaru on Monday. Thomas had cared for it in Christchurch, and we met in the middle. We had no new patients on Tuesday or Thursday. The breeders are slowly coming home, at good weights, so they do not need our help. This is a blessing because our 900kg of fish supplies is now down to about 49kg. The penguins in care are slowly completing their moult and can be released. Some settled weather would be great! Cleaning is nearly a full-time job! The team came out on Thursday, and we found another 4 penguins returned to moult and all at good weights. It was windy – and again on Friday. This morning it is overcast but still – a great day for monitoring penguins! Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family We have passed the equinox and slowly the number of penguins left to moult is slowing down. We will do a count on 1 April, as any not starting the moult by then will be uplifted to give them support. On Tuesday we brought in 6 and released 6. On Thursday we brought in 4 and released 4. This included the Tawaki and the first failed fledgling. Both were good weights and are now back in the wild. Jan has been coming out and helping with the evening feed. It is not hard work but can be very messy. On Friday morning at 9am there were 9 penguins on the beach at Okahau, including the Tawaki released on Thursday, – keeping gentlemen’s hours now that they have moulted. Yesterday was a busy one – I released a pair of penguins after breakfast and then did a special deep clean for the penguin that I later picked up from the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. It had been there 5 weeks for deep feet wounds and is now home to moult. I water blasted in the afternoon and around 6pm the rain arrived. We got 11mm which will break the drought!
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family, The pattern of penguins coming and going continues as we work our way through the season. The penguins coming in to moult now are our breeders. These are early days, but the temptation is to make a roll call of who we have seen and who has not come home yet, but that will only create stress! Our fledged chicks have been very adventurous. One has been found in Kaikoura, one in Timaru, one at Shag point and one downtown Dunedin! These 4 chicks were all natural fledges so who knows what instructions their parents gave them! The big dry continued until Friday when we got 11mm of rain, along with a temperature drop. On my trip to town on Wednesday, I could not miss the autumn colors – I am just getting into the swing of summer! Fortunately, I decided to get a man in to paint the house and he finished it on Thursday. He cut the big hedge as well. I am on a roll here. I decided to get an electric lawn mower to save carting my mower to Hampden to mow the lawns there. I have not yet decided which mower I will keep where. The new one is much lighter than the old one. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family. Sunday was a busy day. Rick from Alpine salmon kindly brought us 160Kg of salmon smolt from the hatchery near Twizel. It was fresh and so getting it frozen as quickly as possible was a priority. What a great opportunity for the penguins to get the best nutrition! Thank you, Alpine Salmon. Later in the day, there was a knock on the door. A tour guide had seen a limping penguin on the beach. I went down straight away, but the penguin had died. It was Mr. 30. His injuries were at a level I had seen other penguins survive, but Mr. 30 was a Malaria survivor which may have affected his ability to handle shock. The team came on Tuesday, and we did the rounds. We are finding male penguins at good weights and females in the 6-7kg range, so needing a helping hand. We brought in 6 penguins who will moult with us and then be released. We let 2 go and 4 more went on Wednesday, including the Tawaki, who was ready to go, but the gale force sou’westerlies are not what he needs for heading home. Mrs. 79 died in care on Wednesday morning, and it was a surprise as she was not that badly injured. I took some bloods and found Malaria. Elaine came out and did a catchup of the bloods. Most seemed clear. They will now go down to Noi for confirmation. Elaine has begun training the team to be able to prepare blood slides too. Murray and Robbie checked the Bluffs and came back with 4 penguins needing help. This takes the total in care to 26. Today I will be releasing 3 who have completed their moult and are looking fabulous!
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family, Another quiet start to the week. It is now getting very dry here and watering is on top of the list. I am harvesting courgettes, carrots, tomatoes, and beans at present. On Sunday, the chicks in soft release fledged and all the chicks in the colony have gone. The team came out on Tuesday and the day began with a Tawaki rescue at the Moeraki Boulders. Searching for underweight and injured penguins is the top of the list at this time of the season. Often the penguins underweight have minor foot injuries which would become enough to cause big problems without help. We picked up 3 underweight moulters at Okahau. The last 3 pre-fledge chicks went to soft release and fledged on Friday afternoon. I went to town on Wednesday. The drying out scenery is almost autumnal, but I am still in summer mode. Some drizzle mid-week was a good excuse to do little! On Thursday morning we found another 3 needy penguins and Jan stayed and cleaned out the pens. The end of the week was quiet too. The weather was good and the 22 penguins in care are all making steady progress. Someone stole the wooden penguin from the gate so we will replace it with another one.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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April 2024
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