10th March 2024

Waiting for help on the landing.

​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.

another glorious suunset at the lighthouse

​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 gulls, waiting out the gale.

​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.

Pied Shags are moving in now that the Spotted Shags have gone.

​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.

State highway 1 the day after the Pink concert.

​Murray and Robbie checked the Bluffs and came back with 4 penguins needing help.

Free from rehab and settling back at home.

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