PENGUIN RESCUE NZ
Te whaka oraka o te takaraka
Weekly news
From the Sanctuary Manager, Rosalie Goldsworthy MNZM
rosaliegoldsworthy@gmail.com
rosaliegoldsworthy@gmail.com
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 desperate Hello friends and family Well, I was right off the mark last week. I checked the landings on Sunday and found an injured penguin on the landing by the hide. On Monday I checked the landings again and found a penguin exhibiting signs of malaria. On Tuesday we brought in 6 new penguins, some with nicks to feet and flippers and some simply underweight. This is a big concern - 27 hoiho in care. I have commissioned the aviary and have 6 penguins in there.  the apples have done well this year I went to town on Wednesday and it was raining from Moeraki to Oamaru all day, but we only got 2mm. In the afternoon, I cooked some apples and while standing at the kitchen sink, noticed that the beaches had turned green – a first in 21 years.  green intertidal zone On Thursday we decided to release the 2 fledglings from down south and to put 2 nearly moulted adults into the soft release pen. What a good idea as we picked up 5 penguins from down the hill, 2 from the Moeraki colony and 2 from the Bluffs. We now have over 30 of them needing a helping  welcome swallows We are all very concerned about this disaster that is happening for the penguins. It is critical that we stay on top of it because if the penguins loose too much body condition it is a long way back. Have a great week! Rosalie   misery in feathers Hello friends and family Thursday night at my house is ‘pie’ night. This means that I have a frozen pie which is quick, easy, and tasty. It requires no thought and is a reward at the end of the week. Once again, I am glad about this!  the reserves are still beautiful Tuesday was straight forward – if gathering up a penguin on the side of a cliff, that requires a rope to access – and it was wet and slippery, is straight forward then it was. We only found 2 penguins that needed help and the other one was waiting for us so easy.  only 3.3kg - maybe the nick on the flipper is the reason. Thursday, on the other hand, was crazy! It started with a fledgling in the gut. This is the first time that it was not me that did the rescue in that difficult spot. Robbie, Murray and Jan were on top of it and the chick came in. Then at the next spot, there were 7 penguins. We worked out who was new and brought in one of them – 6 kgs and starting the moult – death without help. Then we hatched a plan to catch a pair up by the top fence and just as well – it took us all to corner them and they are both underweight to moult so are now in care – Mr and Mrs 41.  free at last - all moulted and happy. We had to commission the aviary for the first time in two years. We have 27 penguins in care. We got one new penguin in on Friday and another on Saturday. We released 4 penguins on Saturday so hopefully, the numbers have peaked. Have a great week Rosalie  The moulted tawaki are stunning Hello friends and family The penguins are coming home to moult thick and fast. We check their weights and if they are light, we bring them in to give support during the moult. Step one is to find them. A penguin that does not want to be found is quite likely to moult undisturbed as we do not check every possible place.  Jan watching the tawaki orient themselves The ones that want help, sit on our regular path and wait for us. They are too easy to catch. The worst case was a premoult female weighing only 4.4 kgs. She was on the path here but had her nest at Katiki Beach. She has settled well. The biggest penguin was a breeding male, on a rock, weighing around 8 kgs. The problem was his chick was up the hill waiting for food. We brought in the last 3 chicks to top up and then release.  the little penguin wasted no time in getting back into the water By the end of rounds on Thursday, we had 22 YEPs in care, plus a little penguin and the erect crested. Pre-moult penguins are usually easy to manage in care as their hunger outweighs their fear, and they learn quickly to feed from the hand. This makes the whole job easier. The chicks, on the other hand, are not fledging because they have sore throats. Once that is cleared up, they too feed from the hand and feeding time becomes a pleasure, not a stress.  the erect crested penguin being released Hiltrun came up on Friday and we released the erect and the little penguin. She also took the Akaroa penguin down to Penguin Place for swimming as they have an in-ground pool. Yesterday it rained so I preserved apples. Have a great week! Rosalie  the last 2 chicks before they headed to soft release The week started out hot and dry. I went for a walk down the hill on Sunday morning and found a beached juvenile. I brought it in. Then I went to feed the chicks in soft release at the Moeraki colony. There was a dead Tawaki on the sand. I brought it home and took some blood from it. It had died of Malaria.  malaria infested blood On Monday I cut most of the top of the macrocarpa hedge. I had to follow my own rule for a change and stop when a battery was used up. I still smile when I think of getting it done!  time to go Tuesday was the day for our monitoring rounds. There are only 4 chicks left to fledge so we weighed them all. We also picked up 3 underweight moulters.  forest blossom In the afternoon I drove down to Dunedin to collect the adult penguin with serious leg injuries. It is well on the way to recovery after several surgeries to repair the damage. On Tuesday night we got 30mm of rain. The drought is over.  ready to head south It rained on Wednesday, so I watched the Kapa haka on TV in the afternoon. By Thursday it was down to showers and so we got the rounds done without getting too wet. We picked up Mrs 80 who was waiting for us on the path. We also brought in Mr and Mrs 157 who were underweight going into the moult. We took the last 2 chicks in rehab to the soft release pen. In the afternoon I went to the Bluffs and met Bronwyn there. We took the side by side to Kawariki Bay and released the moulter there from soft release. She already had the attention of a 7.7Kg moulter!  I have finished cutting the macrocarpa hedge. It is 2.7m tall and 22m long. The power supply will be safe for another few years! Yesterday, 2 more Hoiho came in to care which makes 7 arrivals this week. Today I will release the 3 Tawaki. Have a great week! Rosalie  a juvenile erect crested penguin Hello friends and family What a challenging week this has been for the country and our family. Paul, Olivia, and Jen are once again cut off at Hahei, and they had power cuts and internet outages as well. The storm was very intense and widespread. Robbie brought in an Erect Crested penguin from the Waianakarua river mouth.  wild water for the penguins to fledge into Down here we got big seas on Wednesday, but that was the limit of our discomfort. The 5mm of rain was not enough to stop the drought. The chicks in the colonies are fledging. The areas have a different feel to them once the chicks go. By Thursday we had 7 chicks left here and 8 at the Moeraki colony.  The Akaroa chick and a friend are the only ones left in care We saw another moulting juvenile that we brought in, and 5 adults. We took 4 more chicks to soft release which leaves only the 2 youngest here to go out next week.  down here we don't mess with ducks, here are our seals in a row. On Friday we made the front page of the 2 local newspapers with the story of the first incubator hatched chick which came here to learn penguin. It had fledged when Hiltrun checked down the hill yesterday.  a curious Tawaki This is a quiet season. With 8 penguins in rehab, it is a pleasure to feed them. At this time in previous seasons, we have had up to 70 penguins to feed. The feeding out there must be good at the moment. Have a great week! Rosalie  out on the rocks with the seals Hello friends and family On Sunday I hosted Lynn and her family for the day. What a treat to be in the company of bird rehabbers who understand the crazy scene we are working in. A highlight was seeing the first moulting juvenile of the season at the Moeraki colony. Beach searches are now the priority and on Monday I noticed another change. The chicks are on the move. Chicks from 3 nests were on the beach. This is the first step to fledging.  spoonbills in the Otago harbour On Tuesday we weighed the chicks here and they are all doing fine. When we went to the Moeraki colony, we found our first juvenile moulter. It was only 6.2 kgs, from nest 126 and naturally fledged.  a bad feather day Wednesday was the day for opening the soft release pen and the chicks were happy to finally get off to sea. This created a space for the next 2 oldest ones to go there for a week.  ready for the ocean We did not see any more moulters on Thursday when we weighed the chicks at the Moeraki colony. The temperatures had dropped so working in overalls was not so hot! On Saturday we saw 2 unemployed adults looking very pre-moult but no more needing help just yet!  notice that tummy resting on his feet I also finished cutting the big hedge so now can move on to the shorter ones. Have a great week! Rosalie  summer dress Hello friends and family Summer has been kind to us so far, but after the injured penguin last week, I felt the need to check the beaches every second day to make sure we did not have any more out there suffering. I was so pleased when walking past Tickle bay to see a moulter on the sand, under a bush. I was doubly surprised to see it had gone the next day, Tuesday, when we went to check it.  Tawaki We searched everywhere to no avail. I felt the need to show the photo I had taken to prove my claim. Oh, what a surprize – it was a Tawaki! If I had checked when I took the photo, I would have checked it out then and there!  venturing onto the beach The heat wave arrived on Thursday and while I was away rescuing another Tawaki, the team found the missing one – from zero to two! By the end of the rounds, they were exhausted with the heat!  anywhere is a good place to sleep They brought in two more chicks that were losing weight and took the first 4 fledglings to soft release. Still no signs of moulters or other struggling penguins.  Dad was home because the chick would not eat - sore throat Yesterday I did the rounds in the morning. Because we are feeding chicks in soft release, I take the car to the Moeraki colony so that makes for an easy monitoring round, even though it is so hot!  The chick from Akaroa losing fluff In the afternoon, Elaine came and completed the blood staining so we could read the slides of all the chicks screened. We also took blood from the Tawaki – one has Leucocytozoonosis.  2 Tawaki Today I am off on an adventure, hosting friends off a cruise ship in Dunedin Harbour.  Looking great Have a great week! Rosalie  family groups are rare as more fish are needed On Sunday I was lucky enough to be visited by several people. First to arrive was Hiltrun who quickly set out on the rounds as she was delivering an injured Little Penguin to the Wildlife hospital on her way home so had to leave early. Next was Jill and her family. Jill had been a great help here in 2008 and had written a book about it. While she was down the point, Adrian Hall arrived with his family. I sent them off down the hill while I gave Jill a cuppa, and then gave them one when they got back.  another creche of pups enjoying each other's company All the while Elaine was working on the slides, staining them so we could read them. After all that, Monday was quiet. Jan and Robbie came for the rounds on Tuesday morning but Robbie had to take an injured YEP down to the wild-life hospital, so Jan and I finished the rounds together.  Zzzzzz On Wednesday it was a day for admin, filling out forms for funding so we can keep doing this work.  A juvie that will need help is not good at hiding We were back out in the reserves on Thursday, weighing the chicks at the Moeraki colony. All were over of the 5kg mark but there was one that we could not find. They fall asleep in odd places at this age and that results in a search which may or may not find them. We will keep looking!  Zzzzzzz The rain arrived on Friday, much needed and very welcome. I was able to carry on with the desk work guilt free. Yesterday we were able to locate all of the chicks in the colonies. The oldest chicks are reaching 90 days old so it is time to measure their heads and send the first ones off to soft release. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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