 Looking very grown up - all fluff gone, off to sea soon Hello friends and family The weather was glorious for the start of the week. Both Sunday and Monday were warm enough to sit about and do little. We picked up another adult penguin which brought our total to 18 in care.  Always hungry The rain arrived on Monday night, and we got 16mm – great in every way but the timing. We still had 7 chicks to screen. We scrambled through the slippery slopes and got 5 of them. The last 2 are too well hidden. We brought up 2 more chicks that are not thriving, bringing the rehab total to 20. Dave met the team and shared some of his many stories.  A Pohuturata blooming On Wednesday, we headed inland to the Elephant rocks and then on to the Waitaki River mouth. We completed the outing with lunch at Scotts Brewery and got more jobs done when we got home.  Stunning Thursday was a little different with Jan, Robbie and Dan heading south to a meeting in Dunedin while the rest of us checked the chicks here and weighed the chicks at Okahau. All but one had lost weight and one more so than the rest, so we brought that one in. Sadly, we found another dead one and it has been sent off for autopsy.  Even climbing the hedge does not get dad peace. It was the turn of the Bluffs in the afternoon, and as Dave had not been there before, we went to Kawariki Bay and found the male breeder with a swollen foot. In he came, and then on Friday morning, off to the Wildlife Hospital for vet assessment. Yesterday Hiltrun did the rounds and Dave went off to the Bluffs with Murray. I processed some more blood smears. Have a great week! Rosalie   Feeding time Hello friends and family The promised rain has eluded us and so watering the plant nursery is always on the list of things to do. On Monday we parked the list and went to Oamaru for lunch at Scotts Brewery. They make pizzas for vegans, so it is an enjoyable option. We purchased tee shirts for penguin branding and so Dan has yet another creative task to do.  the k44 chicks staying where their parents put them. On Tuesday we began the blood sampling of the chicks. Thank goodness they are identified as finding them is a challenge. It is a big job, so we have split it into 3. We did the first 29 on Tuesday then the next 18 on Thursday. That leaves us a few in each colony to find and test next Tuesday.  What the chicks are usually doing Wednesday was Toptip day and in the afternoon, Dan went to the T20 international cricket game in Dunedin. We took a blow on Thursday when one of our chicks at Okahau died on its way to the Wildlife hospital. We picked up its sibling and a chick from Bluffs that was not thriving too. Down to 59 chicks.  When your baby is sick, and you don't know what to do Yesterday Dan and I picked up 4 more chicks who have plasmodium in their blood. We did this to reduce the malaria threat to the other 8 penguin chicks living close by. In the afternoon, Dan drove down to the airport and picked up Dave, our new volunteer from North England. Dave is a retired policeman who volunteers as a way of life. The weather has been glorious, and we are making the most of it. Have a great week! Rosalie  Acting like Emperor chicks Hello friends and family Sunday had very nice weather, so Dan and I went to Trotter’s gorge and climbed the top track. I voted against the rock climb at the top, so enjoyed the flowering Kanuka for a bit longer. Monday was a day for weeding potted trees and hedge cutting.  Kanuka at its best The team came out on Tuesday morning, and we microchipped the last 16 chicks. All 60 now have a number and therefore exist! In the evening we went to the Bluffs for a fish and chip dinner. We celebrated the first chick ever to have hatched at the Bluffs and been microchipped. In the past they would have been marked with a flipper band.  We are being watched Wednesday was my day to go to the surgeon about my nose. I am going to need further surgery in the next 2 months. The weather was miserable so no worries about having a day away.  A surprise visitor on Thursday - Cousin Dianne (ex Keen) and husband. On Thursday we weighed the chicks at Okahau. One was falling behind and so we uplifted it to rehab on Friday to observe its behaviour. Today we are expecting rain so will do the rounds early. Have a great week! Rosalie  Just babies really Hello friends and family Happy New Year. 2024 started here with sunshine and light breezes. Dan and I had planned an adventure – visiting the dead whale, but it was too difficult to walk on the wet clay platform to get around the headland, so we gave up. Dan ran the length of Hampden beach – 10kms and I picked him up at the Moeraki end. On Tuesday we microchipped 19 chicks down the hill and welcomed a group of 25 visiting American rehabbers. Their task for the afternoon was to weed the wildlife reserve, which is most appreciated. It was a big job, so they came back on Thursday afternoon and finished it.  The visitors On Thursday morning, the team micro-chipped the chicks at Okahau, the Bluffs and in rehab. Only 15 more to do on Tuesday to complete the job!  One of the last chicks It was a busy day on Thursday. After the micro-chipping and visitors, we uplifted our first juvenile YEP of the season. They are brought in from now on, to help them through the moult. He is of concern at 5 kgs and has no appetite. Then Jim the DOC ranger arrived, and we helped him free a seal from a fishing net. It was resting on the island and fortunately, not too large. What a great start to the year – saving a victim of human carelessness! Then yesterday, Dan went down to keeper’s bay and found 12 dead seals – 3 of which had been decapitated. We have reported it to DOC. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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