to all our wonderful sponsors, first timers and repeat offenders - you are amazing. It's been a record year for sponsorships with 46 out of 48 chicks with names and sponsors. Just the chick sponsorship has raised $2300 for the penguin conservation here at Moeraki. That is amazing!
THANK YOU all so much!
The breeding season has been over for a while but it took a bit of time to catch up with the last records for all these loved penguin chicks. The posts coming up from now on will be about the parents of these chicks that are sponsored as far as we can identify them while they are moulting - more catching up to do.....and of course anyone else with a name. So watch this space - your penguin may feature very soon. Thank you again, all you wonderful penguin lovers, we truly appreciate your support!

These four were ready to be released together. By the (now known head size) Bob and Oreo are girls, Snowflake is a boy and Aloysius is undecided. They are very nicely eating here - don't be fooled, this ain''t easy and you are witnessing years of practice that makes it look so very easy. The gates of this soft-release pen by the beach were opened on 26 February and the chicks very gone the next day - no worries, they were ready to head away! Good luck y'all!!

this girl hung about a wee bit longer than expected so here is one more update. She was gone on 2 March and in good nick: 5.7kg on her last weigh-in, so that should see her right out there hopefully. Good luck, wee girl!

is a boy and he was giving us a right run-around, doing a fantastic disappearing act, only to re-appear and the fledge. Between the 19 February and 3 March he was gone and we thought he had fledged. But then there he was. That was the last time we saw him and it was about time for him to go. Good luck, wee chap and well done!

He came into rehab on 8 February because his mum was not well and it turned out he had Malaria himself. He finally came right and we could release him on 1 March, fit and healthy - and rather chubby after 3 weeks of salmon. Good luck, wee boy!

This female is now of course gone to sea on her big OE. She was well prepared by her parents, weighing 6.1kg a few days before our last record of her on 20 February. Good luck, wee girl!

turned out to be a boy and we last saw him on 20 February - FB takes a while to catch up......On this day he was hanging out half way between Class of 2020 box and Spitfire Rise box - he was very mobile and not far from the beach, just a skip and a hop. Good luck, wee boy out there!

He is back, he is fat and he is moulting. Not for long - soon he will be skinny but gorgeous and then just plain gorgeous.

This wee boy has also dropped all his down and looks like a real penguin now. Our last sighting was on 12 February, a few days prior he weighed 6.3kg - phew, that's heavy and fantastic accomplishment for his parents Spencer and Penelope, both first time breeders. Good luck, wee boy!