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Hello friends and family  A pair of Yellow-eyed penguins moulting. These days I do the beach checks in the morning to avoid the people who are here after 7:30pm when the reserve is closed, in case, by speaking to them about the consequences of their behaviour, I might upset them. In this way I can pretend that all is well – all I notice is the missing penguins. There are 5 Yellow-eyed penguins missing from the south end. Currently, the non-breeders and the failed breeders are moulting so they have no escape. The heat is tough enough but our birds deal with constant noise and movement until after dark each day.  A Katiki Boulder observed during beach searching. Wednesday was the exception. In this case, the wild life harassment was outside my kitchen window as 2 visitors harassed a protected NZ Sealion for over 2 hours. We think visitor impact is fleeting but often it is not. The poor animal was goaded from 2:00pm until 4:30pm when it went back into the water.  Harassment of a protected NZ Sealion. If I had known at the start that it was to be a prolonged incident, I would have driven around there and got enough evidence for a conviction under the wildlife act. A NZ Sealion is big enough to protect itself, but the penguins are not. At 9:30 pm on Wednesday 2 car loads of tourists doused their camp fire (total fire ban for all of Otago) in the darkness and left the car park here.  Large adult dog tied to the sign while his owner was spear fishing. In case I was thinking that that was it for the week, on Saturday morning 2 lads from Christchurch brought their dog down to the point so that they could go spear fishing (dog left in reserve unattended).  The last chick left to fledge in the colony. In the meantime, we have 6 penguins in care and 2 in the soft release pens. All are making good progress.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family I hope all of you in Christchurch are OK and not letting the earthquakes slosh wine out of your flutes.  Visiting the neighbours. Our week began with the arrival of 250Kg of salmon smolt – as ordered and expected – but packaged differently. It meant that we had 3 freezers full of fish, fish in the chilly bin and fish in the fridge. It took until Friday before we had any space anywhere, but no fish spoiled or was wasted.  Hanging in the 'hood. Tobi and I spent time painting signs and pictures of penguins to display on the hay bales generously offered by Doug for that purpose. It was a fun project and we were both surprized at the number of vehicles that drove past. It won’t be long before our work is covered in dust.  3 of the last chicks left to fledge at Okahau point. Wednesday was our town day and we took the bike in to get a puncture repaired. On Friday, Hiltrun and I did the nest rounds. There were only 5 chicks left here and 5 at Okahau Point. We released 6 from the soft release pens and now have only 4 here and 3 in the soft release pens. The remaining refrigerated fish looked daunting!  Our palette. On Saturday we got a call from a holiday maker at Kaik 1. There was a stranded penguin, so off Tobi and I went to collect it. When we arrived, there was also a young bull trapped in a bog. Together we got near to him using the back flap off the truck and then I passed a rope behind his shoulders. We tied a long rope to that and 5 of us managed to pull him out of the bog. Like all good bogs it was very smelly and I still catch a whiff off my hands and boots every now and again!  2 chicks on their way - on the beach in Harry's bay. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family  King of the castle, in the moult. Chris, Tobi and I have had a week of working through lists of tasks to try and reduce the backlog of things that we need to get done. There has been trimming, planting, searching and feeding happening every day. We are preparing for the penguins to begin moulting. At this time, they need to use as little energy as possible to get through 3 + weeks of fasting and no water while they grow their new feathers.  Chicks nearly ready to fledge. The first of our hospital penguin chicks are ready to fledge. We have 15 in care for a number of reasons and now they will slowly leave so the reserves will become quiet. We are weighing the wild chicks again at 100 days to be sure that they are fine and that their micro-chips are working properly. Their heads are being re-measured to see if they have grown.  Spoonbills at their nests. The weather has been great – too hot at times but little wind and warm. Not warm enough for me to go swimming! The gull and shag chicks have fledged and can be seen all over the place. Joe came and shot another 80+ rabbits which certainly helps with that problem. They have ring – barked my lemon trees and destroyed the runner beans. We enjoyed our first feed of home grown potatoes and broccoli. The courgettes are producing well – just as long as I don’t pick them too quickly.  Tobi riding in style. On Wednesday it was my day at the Top Tip shop and Chris and Tobi did the seal pup count. The preliminary view is that the numbers of pups are down from last season.  Swallow taking in the view. Friday was our town day and I picked up a fledgling sparrow to grow on until it can fend for itself. There are lots of young birds about and it is a treat to see them.  The empty front coming up from the south There was one cold front promised – it rolled in with impressive style but failed to deliver any rain.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family.  Looking magnificent and ready to fledge Summer has returned and the days are balmy. I am getting in as many beach searches as I can, to pick up any stranded penguins.  Down near the landing for the first time. I found an injured male Yellow-eyed penguin on Wednesday morning. It had wounds to its back so Kathryn the vet called in on her way home to check it out. It will need care for the next little while.  White fronted terns just hanging out! The wild chicks are beginning to move down towards the sea, in preparation for fledging. We have 5 chicks that are in the soft release pens where they will stay until they reach 106 days old. The gate will then be left open and they will be free to go when they want. In the meantime, they all weigh 6Kg and will get fed once a day. The next lot will go there this week.  A pair of penguins having a day off. Yesterday I saw our first moulters. They were 2 Juveniles between Harrys Bay and Hide Bay. They both look just fine, but we will of course keep an eye on them. Steph and Jeremy visited with their delightful wee girl, Samantha, who has now added ‘penguin’ to her vocabulary!  What is this? Not something the gulls are interested in - I don't know! I also caught up with Elaine who is now back at work and very busy. She gave me some Silver beet plants that I am hoping the rabbits do not take a liking to!  our resident White-faced heron. Tobias, a volunteer from Germany is due to arrive today at lunch time. He came with his family about 10 years ago and it will be great to catch up with him again.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family. We have had rain! It has been enough to break the drought here and a huge relief for the plants that were dropping leaves with the big dry. The penguin chicks are water proof enough with their new juvenile plumage to enjoy the rain and use it as a trigger to preen. Of course the place turns to mud very quickly, but that is a manageable issue really.  Looking fabulous, waiting for dinner. In the colony, the mothers are coming under pressure. The one that abandoned her chicks has returned to keep her partner company, but one of the mothers down the hill is now keeping the neighbour company. Fortunately, she only had one chick and dad should be able to keep up with its demands, but we will keep a close watch on it.  Warm rain in the forest produces fungi Another mum has succumbed to an infected foot and come into care - she too had only one chick that dad should be able to raise on his own, but another watch is in place. She is going to have surgery in Dunedin tomorrow.  Checking out the accomodation The hospital chicks are showing signs of an infected throat so the vet has been out and done more swabs. When eating hurts, they see each meal as a threat and fight and peck, not a good plan when nutrition is so important for growing bodies.  My garden where the weeds are flowers and the pears are growing Yesterday our great team spent the time clearing out dead trees and creating more space for penguins at Okahau point. It was nice to see the sun again.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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August 2023
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