​Hello friends and family
Another month has flown by. Having the two Daniels visit was just great. It made upgrading vehicles easy and that was a huge change for me. Young Daniel headed home on Tuesday, but his flight was sent back to Wellington because of bad weather in Tauranga. He had a night in Wellington before he finally made it home. Thank you, Daniel for your great effort.

                                    Bad neighbours​
​The penguin chicks are nearly all over 5 Kgs and the biggest is over six. They are loosing their down rapidly and this makes it easier to find them. On Tuesday there was only 2 that we could not find so I went back to look for them on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday we also found a dead adult penguin here in the colony. It was one of our failed breeders.

  I had a quiet day on Wednesday and on Thursday the team weighed and took blood samples from the chicks at the Moeraki colony. This time we could not find the 134 chicks, but I located them on Friday and Hiltrun and I sampled them yesterday. Job done! The next job is to measure their heads to determine gender. Males have heads bigger than 142mm. We are weighing and treating the chicks once a week anyway, so it is no extra disturbance for them.

​On Saturday, Hiltrun and I weighed our second moulting juvenile – 8.2 Kgs so no worries there! North Otago continues to be green – almost unheard of but very beautiful anyway. I had to mow the lawns again!

​Hello friends and family
This week has been shaded by missing chicks. We had one go missing at nest 140 and we had no idea what happened to it. Then on Thursday morning we could not find 3 more. We were very worried, but with no sign of predation, we did not have enough information to act. All the rest of the chicks are making good progress. At the same time, we have trapped 8 ferrets and 2 cats. So far this season we have found 40 predated storm petrels – this number must surely put this colony at risk. 

​Predators that are not hungry are doubly difficult to catch. Aaron shot 80+ rabbits in 2 nights when he was here – not even making a dent. Ross from the farm estimates 10,000 rabbits have been shot on the farm in the last 3 years. Our best chance to control the predators is when young ones are dispersing from the nest. 

​All that changed on Thursday evening when Daniel and I went to the Moeraki colony to check for the missing chicks. We found the 140 chick that had been missing for a week. This is the benefit of micro-chipping – we can identify individual chicks even if they have wandered far from home. We also located 2 of the other missing chicks. On Friday we found the last missing chicks so all is well for now.

Friday is our day off, so we went to the Waitaki river mouth. We went on the north side and it has changed a great deal. It now flows straight into the sea so is not quite as dramatic. We got our drama from buying a new element for the stove – over $140 – ridiculous!
Kaitlyn and Anne called in yesterday on their way back to Christchurch and it was great to see them.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
The weeks are flying by. On Sunday the boys did the trap round and on Monday we went to Oamaru to update the groceries so Daniel could cook his favourite, Nachos for dinner. Jan, Robbie and Elaine joined us on Tuesday and we micro-chipped another 6 chicks and took blood samples from 13 penguins. The Juvenile in care had a positive blood slide for Malaria so her treatment was begun.

​Our micro-chipping of the chicks has been very timely. The chicks are getting adventurous. At the Moeraki colony they were in groups of 3 or 4 , or in the neighbour’s house, and we were able to positively ID them before we took blood samples from the oldest ones. At the moment, they are growing their first feathers. This means that they are shedding fluff in every direction, up our noses included, and all over the gear. Such fun!

​On Wednesday we weighed and dosed the Katiki Beach chicks and then headed to Trotter’s Gorge where we climbed to the highest point. It was great that we went in the morning as the weather cracked up in the afternoon and our weeding efforts were rewarded by a shower!
Thursday was monitoring day and we checked the chicks here and then went to the Moeraki colony where the last of the chicks was micro-chipped and all were weighed and treated. We were finished at 11:30am. A tribute to the smooth running of our team! One chick was not thriving, so we brought it into care – it threw up a tablespoon of worms so there is something wrong.

Fun Friday saw us heading south to Dunedin after the morning feed to visit tunnel beach – where I have not been before, and we needed the tide to be out. What a remarkable spot – well worth the climb down and then up. After chores, we had lunch at St Claire’s and then headed out to Penguin Place to meet up with the team there. Both Daniels were very impressed with their set up and it was good to see our transferred penguin with the bald patch, swimming with her new friend! Still no signs of moulting. The it was dinner at Ironic café and off to the airport to deliver Dan on his way home. He has done some fantastic work on apps for the penguins, and we can’t thank him enough!
We arrived home to greet Aaron, who has come to help with rabbit control. Hiltrun came up yesterday and did more mowing.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
Summer arrived this week. It was shorts and tee shirt weather and Dan went swimming at Keepers Bay. On Tuesday we did the rounds and saw a new Juvenile at home as more and more of the chicks go post guard. We caught 2 ferrets in the traps so will be checking the traps regularly.

​Wednesday was my morning at the TopTip, and Dan went to the airport to collect Daniel. After we had checked the live traps, they went for a swim. A southerly front came through and so the temperatures dropped to a more comfortable level. There is a huge problem here with the internet speed being about zero for most of the day.
The team came out on Thursday and we micro-chipped 22 chicks. Jan, Robbie and I inserted the chips. We have Daniel training as a holder and Murray training too. Dan tested the new app in the field. He also set up a barcode reader so there are no transcription errors in our new data set!

​Friday was fun day so Daniel, Dan and I set out on a trip up to central. With 3 drivers and a new car to get used to, it was a great day. The first stop was St Bathans for morning coffee then Wanaka for lunch. We were home in time to feed the penguins before dinner at the Moeraki Tavern. What a great day we had! It was summer in central Otago, and it was green.

Yesterday Hiltrun joined us and we micro-chipped more chicks. We now have only the 8 youngest left to do. We saw Mrs 167 again so are hugely relieved that she is still alive.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
Happy New Year.
The wee chicks were so hungry when they came in that they were feeding from the hand on day 2 and by Monday morning, I did not even need to climb into the pen to feed them. They are eating as much as an adult penguin and would even eat more, but their meals are measured to make sure that they do not get over fed. The adult was feeling better by day 3 of his Malaria treatment and showed this by jumping out of his pen. Some penguins are jumpers – this is okay. We run a rehab not a prison! We let him go on Tuesday when his meds were complete.

​Cousin Daniel arrived on Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to go to Dunedin and get his help to buy a new computer as my laptop is struggling with simple tasks. He installed it for me on Friday while I was going to Christchurch to get my PHEV. I am starting the New Year in style – long may it last!

​On Thursday we brought in a sick Juvenile and a shrinking chick. Both are now recovering in rehab.

Hiltrun came up yesterday and did the rounds. I got called out to a sick penguin on Hampden beach, but sadly it died. It was a starving fledgling, either a Little Penguin or a White-flippered Penguin.
Have a great week!
Rosalie