These two are back in their box from last season and are now happily incubating two eggs. They are one of the 33 pairs that have so far laid eggs at Moeraki - and there are more to come. We had 41 pairs last season and we are hoping to increase the total this year.
Other sponsored penguins recorded and/or sighted:
Nye and Ciara (1 egg) in Felicity McLachlan's box
Stitches (2 eggs) with her usual mate, new box
Bri (2 eggs) with a new mate, new box
Otto (1 egg) same mate, different box
Holger and Danni (2 eggs) different box
Dylan is with Poppy (2 eggs) different box
Lesley is with newly sponsored Chris (1 egg) in Chris' Crib
Hazel has changed colony and mate (1 egg), new box
Rio (1 egg) - he is a recruit breeding with Dylan's former mate
Stewie Junior with Anna (2 eggs) in Uncle Chang's box
Noelyn (2 eggs) with her previous mate in her old box
Pyne (who turned out to be a male) has 1 egg with Goldenglimmer!!
Bruce and Chicky (2 eggs) are in Flipper Palace
Goldenstar and Honedydrop (2 eggs) are back under a flax bush
Logan Bear (2 eggs) in Wild 3
Gustl (1 egg) with old mate in Hartfiel Family
Janet (1 egg) with her old mate, new box
Meghan (2 eggs) with a new mate in a new box
Ming (1 egg) with a new mate, new box
Hollie (1 egg) with old mate in Penny Box 4
Morgan (1 egg) with old mate in Penny Box 1
Eric and Thor (1 egg) new box
Ewan and Shannon (2 eggs ) in Spitfire Rise
Molly (2 eggs) with a new mate in a new box
Bron (2 eggs) with old mate under a flax bush
Mama Pingu (1 egg) with old mate in new box
Still to lay eggs: Mary and Bequette, Goldenglitter is hanging with Penguin TJ, and Vivek. We are hoping for another nine more nests in total as we have seen either pairs or the female.

We had a second pair with eggs this weekend. Anna is one of our oldest penguins and we have recorded her with Stewie Junior in Uncle Chang's box again. We were delighted to have her back and see her with her egg.

And it's Bri who is first over the line with the first egg. She is always one of the first but this time beat everyone. Maybe it's the new mate? She has moved house and in with him - it's perfect. Bless her!
Quick note to other sponsors: these penguin have now been spotted: Noelyn, Poppy (who has switched to Dylan by the looks of it), Ming - and the wonderful news of Noodle, the chick raised by Shannon and Ewan.

We finally found these two....they have moved house and have started to build a nest. Eric is the male and Thor is the female - she was sponsored as a chick and given this name making this our nordic pair! It's wonderful to have them back!
Other sponsored penguins sighted now are:
Bri, Lesley, Goldenstar and Honeydrop, Logan Bear, Jax, Janet, Mary, Molly and Bronn. To all your wonderful sponsors whose penguin has not featured in the list, please be patient, the penguins are a little later than last year and it is taking us a while to identify them. They need to be settled enough in their box that we can approach them to identify them and we don't want to cause undue stress. And yes, we find it hard too as we are anxious to know who has made it through the winter

Slowly, slowly our yellow-eyed penguins are trickling home. It is mostly the boys we have see so far, as the girls are at sea eating lots to make big eggs!
For our wonderful sponsors, I thought I give you a list of those named penguins sighted so far (in no particular order):
Goldenglitter, Ron and Isabel,Stitches, Nye and Ciara, Stewie Junior and Anna, Bruce and Chicky, Holger and Danni, Dylan, Pyne, Rio, Pringle, Otto, Gustl, Odd Simen and Butterbell, Ewan and Shannon, Morgan, Hollie, Mama Pingu, and Bequette.
If yours is not on the list, it doesn't mean the penguin is no longer with us: we just haven't crossed paths yet. I will let you know when your penguin is sighted (and when your box is being used).
P.S. The photo is of a random penguin.....

Lock-down gets lots of things done....found this photo of Pringle, a chick from the past summer, when it was in rehab for a week back in June. Clearly Pringle knows how to fish and is sticking round, so in a year or two hopefully will start breeding - even if it requires intermittent pick-me-ups in our rehab!