PENGUIN RESCUE NZ
Te whaka oraka o te takaraka
Weekly news
From the Sanctuary Manager, Rosalie Goldsworthy MNZM
rosaliegoldsworthy@gmail.com
rosaliegoldsworthy@gmail.com
|
WATCH LIVE!
|
|
|
 back together Hello friends and family. The autumn weather continues to be kind to us here in North Otago and I have yet to unpack the thermals. On Tuesday we released the last 5 penguins from care as they were down to a few feathers left to moult, and they can drop them in the colony, rather than here. I have had continuous penguins since before Christmas, which makes for a long rehab season. We have one penguin at the Dunedin Wildlife hospital that will be back here soon, so all is not done. The season ends at the end of this month.  evidence of a tree climbing penguin Megan, Jason, and baby Taylor called in on their way home from holiday. What a treat – talking penguins to others who speak the same language! They are moving to Penguin Place so that is great news. Taylor is a contented baby and even joined in the conversation a couple of times.  The 5 finger is beginning to flower Bronwyn and Tobi joined us on Thursday morning, and we started our winter planting. The penguins are nearly all out fishing most days, so we were quick to spot one on the landing. Sadly, it was dead – an unmarked, moulted adult male, weighing only 3kg. It must have come from somewhere south of here.  home sweet home Slowly I am getting the paths pruned with my new, very dangerous toy. It only weighs 1.5kg so is easy to put in the backpack and have it on hand to make trimming easy. Yesterday the sun continued to shine so I went and retrieved some waratahs to use when planting this season. I am expecting to start on my list of indoor jobs today, but it is not raining yet!  deadly device Have a great week, Rosalie   the tail enders Hello friends and family I have recovered from COVID and on Tuesday morning had a clear RAT test. Getting back to a normal routine has been made pleasant by nice weather to start the week. On Tuesday, the big downer was that we found Mrs 168 dead in her nest. Her blood showed a high white blood cell count indicating an infection She has gone off for an autopsy. In the afternoon, we went to Kawariki and removed boxthorn. Even that work was pleasant because of the glorious day.  beautiful evenings this week On Wednesday morning I went to Oamaru and had some sunspots frozen off my nose, and then I was off to the Sthil shop to buy an electric pruning saw. At last, a saw that can fit in the backpack and be there when I see branches that must go. All the trees are trembling!  for Elaine We did the rounds on Thursday morning and repaired the internal fence down here in the reserve. The penguins had found a way through it, so we moved it to stop them getting too close to people. Hiltrun came up yesterday and I walked the coast.  seal pups that are looking plump again Have a great week! Rosalie  Mr chunky was able to attract his partner home for much needed help Hello friends and family, We all know what they say about the best laid plans – I never got to the WReNNZ conference in Auckland – I got COVID instead. I suspect I caught it at the Oamaru penguin symposium and tested positive on the following Tuesday. I am surrounded by caring people so by Wednesday I had started the antivirals and by Friday was feeling much better.  my chief spider catcher Hiltrun came up on Saturday and rescued Flipper bird, leaving only one breeding female missing from the Moeraki colony. She also brought up our young penguin from the Dunedin Wildlife hospital. We are very grateful for their fine care of our penguins that need extra help. We are also very grateful for all our sponsorship, and it was a buzz to get support from Geistlich Pharma, Australia, as it was unexpected.  2 pied shags take a break I was out of isolation by Tuesday, so Jan, Murray and Bronwyn joined me for the rounds. We had rain so it was a wet adventure but all quiet on the penguin front. Jan and I did a repeat on Thursday. Friday was the end of season meeting at DOC in Dunedin. Jan and I went down and kept to the script which is always a good thing. After the meeting we went to the organic shop for lunch and then did the errands and I was home by 3pm.  the early Kowhai that attracts Bellbirds through the winter Yesterday Hiltrun came up and we did the rounds – no needy penguins, but Murray found one at the Bluffs which is now in the Dunedin Wildlife hospital with an eye injury. We released Mrs 121 so are now down to 7 Hoiho in care plus one little penguin.  prospecting a new nest box Have a great week! Rosalie  happy to be home Hello friends and family This week was dominated by the penguin symposium on Oamaru. We did the rounds on Tuesday and found no needy penguins. In the afternoon, Thomas and Kristina delivered 2 failed fledglings for soft release and in discussions with them, I realised that I was whining a lot which is never going to be helpful, so I decided to stop.  our little shags survived the starvation event I’m glad I did because it enhanced my appreciation of all the excellent work being done for penguins around the country and the world, by good people as revealed at the symposium. The use of technology was inspiring. The dinner was excellent, and it was great to see the little penguins coming home at Oamaru.  home time We did the rounds on Friday and Saturday, but there was no sign of our missing penguins. We have done weeding down the hill on each visit and hope to have the problem solved in a few weeks.  the setting moon The grass growth has been like it usually is in springtime. The mower man flicked up a stone that went straight through my office window. I will get it sorted out sometime soon. In the meantime, I have patched it up. Have a great week! Rosalie  free at last Hello friends and family Cool mornings and nice days have been the theme this week. There has been enough wind to be an excuse to stay indoors if required. On Tuesday, we rescued one penguin from down the hill that had been in care but was sick again. We saw the dolphins again! In the afternoon, Murray went to the Bluffs and found another dead penguin. It went off for an autopsy.  The lucky ones
On Thursday we once again, checked the colonies for missing moulters and actually found one. Mrs 121 was in a nest box, weighed 6.9kg, and has yet to moult. She will get a helping hand. In the afternoon, Jan took Tuesday’s penguin down to the wildlife hospital and I potted up Kanuka.  a pause in the business of the day On Friday I released 3 more penguins that were ready to go and did more cleaning. I got a call to the Moeraki Boulders and picked up a little penguin – freshly moulted and needing help. Yesterday was our red-letter day. We picked up 3 pre-moult penguins. Mrs 147, 25 and Mr 209. On average, penguins come in to moult 21 days after their chicks fledge. We picked up the last of the chicks on 28th February. These ones turned up 60 days later. We are so happy to see them alive.  Mrs 147 ready to moult Have a great week! Rosalie  Hello friends and family This has not been an easy week. We are ever hopeful of finding the missing penguins so unproductive monitoring rounds are depressing. The weather has conspired to add to this by being grey, damp, and cold. The rehab penguins are the strugglers, and a bit of drama was added when Mr 299 escaped. We run a rehab, not a prison, so this does happen, but a penguin should not be able to escape from a mosquito-proof enclosure. He was first seen in the paddock by Joe on Monday night. I tried to catch him, but he was not having a bar of it, so I left it for the morning when the team were here. There was no sign of him. Rabbit-proof fencing makes it difficult for penguins to get back to the sea from here, but not impossible!  experiencing nature I was sitting at the computer on Wednesday morning and glanced out the window. There he was, strolling up the drive. I caught him and we released him on Thursday morning after a few good meals of sardines. After the Thursday rounds, a local couple delivered another starving pre-moult adult. This one has not been micro-chipped yet but behaves as if it has been in rehab before.  life in the old light yet The sun came out for the weekend and Hiltrun came up to do some habitat work. I walked the coast and completed end of season jobs like emptying the chest freezer in the garage, putting the little penguin boxes, and the penguin tent away for the winter. We have 11 penguins in care.  the reward - penguins being normal Have a great week! Rosalie  let us out! Hello friends and family. Disaster was averted this week when the fish arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were down to one box left in the freezer and now, with all 80 boxes here we are set for the next month.  beautiful Hebe On Sunday evening, Jan and I picked up a moulting female Hoiho at Moeraki – only 4.4kgs and yet to moult. She was from the Catlins. On Tuesday we got Mrs 6 who was a respectable 6kg but not enough to moult.  the last failed fledgling - off to sea this week! The rain arrived. Fortunately, not as much as predicted. I did the Toptip on Wednesday morning, pleased to get there on time with a carload of fish boxes and now that we can recycle soft plastic, 3 bags of fish bags! Robbie went down to the Dunedin wildlife hospital to pick up Mr 5 who had had his leg slashed. We are pleased to have him home. I was able to get gear dry for the next round on Thursday  rain brings fungi We had a full team of 6 on Thursday, braving the rain, hoping to see another needy penguin but having to settle for releasing 4 and enjoying seeing the newly moulted ones in their nest boxes. Sadly, we also found Mr 126 dead at the Moeraki colony. He had been released 10 days before. This penguin was sponsored as Mr Paddles. He hatched in 2006 and had raised 8 chicks, the last 2 fledged naturally this season. He had been in rehab 6 times. The first 2 times he was injured. After that he was underweight to moult 4 times.  welcome home On Friday I went to town and was surprised to see that autumn had arrived in all its glory! It is very picturesque driving from here to Oamaru. Hiltrun came up yesterday and I walked the coast. We are down to 20 penguins in care with more to be released this week. Have a great week! Rosalie  almost done and ready to go! Hello friends and family - Happy Easter The penguins keep arriving, and so we keep releasing them when they are ready so it can be a challenge to know how many are here at any given time. On Sunday morning I picked up a penguin off the landing at the Moeraki colony that had moulted but weighed only 4.4 kg. It had been there on Saturday so its choice to stay in was an indicator that all was not well. It was a 2 year old female from here that had nested at Aramoana. She had Malaria. On Tuesday morning we had 50 in care with 18 of our breeders not seen yet.  a starved Titi chick has been dragged out of the burrow The team came out on Monday and we brought in 3 penguins including the 47 pair who were looking so well for a couple of weeks then weighed under 5 kg and still 2 weeks of moulting to go. Tuesday was a day for washing and cleaning ready for the next lot.  Penguin holidays have begun We went out again on Wednesday and only found one needy penguin – Mrs 90. She fledged 2 chicks and came in, pre-moult, weighing 4.9kg. but she was the only one! We released 5 so maybe we have passed the peak. On Thursday the drama was around undelivered fish. United fisheries had it picked up on Monday morning, but it had not arrived in Dunedin. Long weekend ahead, dwindling fish supplies. I have ordered more which should be here by Wednesday.  Not a bat in the belfry, a rat on the roof! We did the rounds on Friday and only picked up one penguin. It was Mr 168. He had started the moult well but after 3 weeks was under 5 kg with a week to go. There are penguins back now, those that we have released are swimming home, resting up for a couple of days and then back out there fishing. Yesterday I picked up Mrs 78 – underweight to moult but at 6.7kg, not as bad as we have seen. Later, I went down the hill and beeped Mrs 96. She is the only female that we know for sure moulted unassisted. We have 8 females unaccounted for. Have a great week! Rosalie |
Archives
April 2023
|
RSS Feed
