 life in the ocean can be tough Hello friends and family On Sunday we did Dan’s farewell walk around the reserves. The very last nest we came to had mum at home. She was looking thin and limping. We picked her up and found she had an injured foot and only weighed 4.5 Kg. Time to give her some help.  The Pohutukawa in full bloom Bringing in the chick too was the best option as, although a single adult can raise a single chick, there is no need to put the dad to such huge stress. This process highlights another problem with our isolation procedures. If a chick can see a parent, it will beg. It is incessant and very stressful for the adult. A new strategy is required!  a chick waiting for the next feed We now have 13 penguins in care. Of these, 9 feed willingly from the hand. 2 are new and still learning and 2 are just plain difficult. It takes about 45 minutes to feed and then prepare the next feed. This happens twice a day.  another wilderness experience On Thursday the team came out and we took time to celebrate Elaine’s birthday. Vanessa’s Cottage Café supplied lunch, and it was delicious.  penguin on the move Have a great week! Rosalie   What the chicks are usually doing Hello friends and family We got off to another dismal week weatherwise but by Tuesday it was fine enough to do the rounds.  The White -faced heron has a friend We did the blood screening of the chicks here – one tested positive for Malaria and is now receiving treatment. The chicks are getting bigger and more elusive as they grow up. They have developed an opinion so resent us handling them – all this is good and healthy.  Our only natal pair in the wild Because we got rained off last Thursday, we weighed, microchipped and screened the chicks at Okahau and the Bluffs. We brought in the last chick at Okahau and the one left at the Bluffs as both had lost weight in the last week and were under the 5Kg cut off for their age. We were joined for the morning by Max from the ORC. He had come to check that we had made good use of the grant we got to help pay off the microscope. He was very empathetic.  wilderness tourism in NZ The day was made more pleasant by having lunch at the new cottage at the Bluffs – it is off the grid, but has solar power, water, gas and a very flash toilet! It is built to withstand high winds and will make working bees at the Bluffs more pleasant.  hiding in plain sight On Friday, Dan and I tackled the challenging hedge behind the plant nursery. All the tiny trees were weeded, moved out, then returned when the hedge cuttiing was finished. I finished the job by watering them!  Butterflies on Californian thistle - let's hope they are laying eggs Dan returned the surfboard yesterday and today he flies home. Our app and data are all up to date – thanks Dan! Have a great week! Rosalie  The chicks are growing up fast Hello friends and family On Sunday, Dan and I took a drive to check out Anderson’s lagoon. No stranded penguins!  Spoonbills ruffled by the wind The days are racing by, and the chicks are growing up. On Tuesday the team came out and we microchipped the chicks here in the colony. There was 14 to do and we were joined by Michelle from FALCON, who brought microchips with her, thank goodness as we did not have any to hand.  The chicks are on the move It was great to have her visit, and I asked her about marking chicks when Bird flu arrives. She agrees with me, it is an essential activity. In the northern hemisphere, the impacts of Bird flu are masked by a lack of information resulting from their decision to not mark birds during the outbreak.  Our largest seal pup creche On Thursday, the team did the rounds down the hill but the micro-chipping at Okahau was put off because it was too wet. It was nice to have time for a chat and catch up on family news. We are usually too busy with penguins.  The Pohutukawa is still glorious Jesse and his partner visited on Friday. He is planning a project to predict the spread of Bird flu once it arrives in New Zealand. It was great to meet them and be able to discuss the issues we face.  The elusive chick O8 hiding Yesterday was a day for avoiding showers. We have 7 penguins in care -5 chicks and 2 juveniles. Have a great week! Rosalie  still guarding the chick Happy New Year, friends and family We did the weighing of chicks here at Katiki on Tuesday and all the chicks are tracking okay. The heaviest is now over 5 Kgs and most chicks are still being guarded, two good signs that the fishing out there is okay so far.  beginning to grow feathers In the afternoon, we went to Oamaru. The town seemed empty until we got to the supermarket which was crazy busy. Wednesday morning was our morning at the TopTip and that was damp, cold and very quiet.  ready for mischief The team came out on Thursday morning. The first task was to microchip the 4 chicks about to creche. This was their first post-guard day and I’m sure they would have been all mixed up by the afternoon. Then we weighed the 2 chicks in K21 who had lost weight, they have caught up and were fine, so we left them in the nest.  home alone After making sure that the rest of the chicks were okay, we went to Okahau to do the weighing there. All those chicks are making good progress, except we could not find chick O8.  waiting to steal fish off the penguins Friday was wet. After a day indoors, we went to Okahau and found chick 8 that we had not seen for 3 days. It looked just fine! Yesterday was better weather so we did the rounds and the lawns. Sadly, we saw a Black backed gull predate a Red billed gull chick. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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