 Chicks getting adventurous and heading down to the landing Hello friends and family We got some very welcome rain last weekend which gave us a break from watering the small trees. Where we have missed some, they are dying as it is so very dry. On Monday, 3 DOC officers joined us for the last of the 70-day micro-chipping of the chicks. It was great to be able to show them around and explain the work that we do.  A master of understatement Tuesday was my day for catching up with the bees. They are continuing to do Okay and I was pleased to be able to get around them all in one day. Some of the hives are now head height which creates a good workout lifting the new boxes onto the top.  This is a Giant Petrel looking for dead seal pups Chris and Adrian came up on Thursday and worked in the reserves. Sue and Judy from the Otago Community Trust visited too. I watered trees for a few hours, hoping to entice a bit of rain, but all we got was about 1 mm on Friday morning. Joris visited on Friday as did the team from MacRaes. Joris reported an injured adult so Chris and I went down and caught it. It was Mrs 31 with an injured foot – maybe our first Barracouta victim of the season.  Yes penguins like to climb! Things were not so simple yesterday when we found a dead mum who will be sent off for an autopsy and 6 chicks that are not doing well and have come into care. One of them had lost half a Kg in a week and died.  The Oyster-catcher chicks are growing. The garden is a delight and I am harvesting tomatoes, boysenberries, beans, capsicums, carrots and broccoli (not skiting or anything!)
Have a great week Rosalie  penguin families have time together Hello friends and family The wind died down on Monday, so Daniel and I headed off to check the bees. As we got through Moeraki, the truck started to make a funny noise, so we turned around and got 400 m back up the road and the temperature gauge shot up, so we pulled off the road. I phoned the Palmerston garage and Ian told me to call the AA first, so I did. While we were waiting for the tow-truck, Linda from Moeraki pulled up and offered to help. She said she would be back and returned a short time later with her car that she lent us until the truck is fixed. How awesome is that!  Our new donation box called Janice While we were waiting we caught up with Doug and Robyn, as well as Bill Pile who has given us permission to continue crossing his land to search for penguins.  Every chick is precious On Tuesday we had Owen and Chrissy for dinner and showed them the work we have done with the Chainsaws. Owen was very impressed and keen to continue helping.  A family gathering in the forest I was on at the Top tip on Wednesday, so Daniel had another go at the gorse on the Hampden section. On Thursday we went to Palmerston and waited for the truck to be finished. I think if we weren’t there, it would not have been ready until Friday!  The chick is acting like a real penguin On Friday we went and visited Margaret and Rodney up the Waitaki valley. Their garden is well in advance of ours and they can grow all kinds of tomatoes. Daniel went home yesterday, and Dave came to install the new donation box. It is now tamper proof and very fine indeed. Chris and Hiltrun arrived last night and we took the time to acknowledge that Janice died a year ago today.
Have a great week! Rosalie  The chicks are growing up so fast Hello friends and family Last Sunday we micro-chipped and weighed the 7 oldest chicks. Overall their weights were great, so all is well. Catching them requires crawling around under the trees and among Shearwater burrows. The place is once again, crawling with fleas. January is the month of scratching for me!  Swallows on the clothes line On Monday, Daniel spent the day upgrading our internet presence. This is our main platform for penguin advocacy and, so we want to reach as many people as possible. We now have a Twitter account!  Learning to be a proper penguin Tuesday was our town day and I did the Top-tip shop on Wednesday morning. Daniel cut some gorse at the Hampden section. Jim has put in a boundary fence which is great. The apricot trees are looking healthy but the peach trees have died.  Life is easy for penguins with out chicks to raise On Thursday I caught up with Marian before she goes back to work and was very impressed with her big tunnel house. All the while we have been monitoring chicks and predator traps and watering the young trees. All the bad weather has passed us by.  The Hoya is in full bloom This morning the team went to Katiki Beach where we found, weighed and micro-chipped 2 penguin chicks from 2 nests. After yesterday’s marathon of 43 chicks it was easy!
Have a great week! Rosalie  nearly as big as mum Hello friends and family Happy 2018. Hopefully things are quietening down for you and you can enjoy a break before it is back to work! I have begun my summer harvest, with tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes, carrots, beans and broad beans too! After a shower earlier in the week I did mow the front lawn to tidy the place up, and weed-eated the lighthouse enclosure to reduce the fire risk. The workers are due here soon to re-pile the lighthouse so that could be quite noisy.  People damage from walking on the sensitive historical features. I did the monitoring rounds on Wednesday and Friday and the chicks are growing up fast. Today Hiltrun and I will micro-chip and weigh the oldest chicks as they have reached 70 days old. Chris arrived on Thursday and cousin Daniel arrived on Friday, so it has been busy.  Penguin chicks creching Chris and I met with Will and Jennifer who inspire us with their wonderful support and concern for the welfare of the wildlife.  The Pohutukawa continues to bring enjoyment At this time of the year the visitor pressure is at its highest with other new Zealanders wanting to act like they are above the law, shooting all over the farm and the road at night from vehicles, with shotguns and leaving the cartridges and beer bottle tops all over the place. Then there are the poachers who collect Paua from the middle of a seal breeding area. Fortunately, these people are the minority.  Disturbing the seal pups just because he can The rain that drenched the rest of the country passed us by and so I have been busy watering gardens and trees!
Have a great week Rosalie |
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