 Boofer penguin Hello friends and family We enjoyed a fine, warm weekend and on Tuesday morning the drizzle arrived. We did the rounds anyway – just as well, because we picked up an injured adult Hoiho at the south end, who is now in the Dunedin wildlife hospital with a gash to his lower belly. We also picked up an underweight moulter at Okahau on the north face. He was keeping company with the last chick to fledge there.  home for the moult There were 6 chicks remaining down the hill here and one at Okahau. The first 4 chicks have gone from soft release and the next 2 are installed.  feathers dropping On Wednesday afternoon the real rain arrived, and we got 27mm. It had stopped by Thursday morning, so we got the rounds done. The good thing about the rain is that it washed away all the old penguin poop, so what we see now is new stuff.  Old feathers almost all gone By Friday, I thought all the chicks in the colonies had fledged. I was wrong – there were 3 down the hill here on Saturday. We will check one of them out today. I rescued an injured adult at Okahau – 2 injured Hoiho this week.  Sleeping through the moult Have a great week! Rosalie   A Snares crested penguin in care Hello friends and family The chicks are beginning to fledge. This is great timing as the seas are calm and the forecast is good.  still being fed by their parents 4 had gone from down the hill when we did the rounds on Tuesday, and so I took the first 4 to soft release. They will stay there for about a week. In the afternoon, we went to a council hosted gathering at the Hampden hall of local conservationists which was rather inspiring!  abundance I went to town on Wednesday morning and in the afternoon, shifted all the penguins out of the isolation ward and did a big clean up. Robbie and I did the rounds on Thursday and were very pleased to find another juvenile Hoiho. It weighed in at 7kg which is a great effort for a juvenile, and it takes the return rate up to 5%. We were now left with 7 chicks to fledge here and 5 at Okahau.  nearly ready to go Friday was the Hui at the Moeraki Marae. Robbie and I attended, trying to keep the lines of communication open, but well reminded that we are an inconvenience. Added to that stress was finding one of our Juvenile Hoiho in care dead on Saturday morning.  An Erect crested penguin getting a helping hand I have had penguin calls from all over the east coast (Wenderholme to Curio Bay) and one from New Plymouth this week. There is an unprecedented number of Erect Crested penguins stranding on our coast at present. It has also been a week of ferret invasion. Never a dull moment! Have a great week Rosalie.  Our first Crested penguin for the season Hello friends and family On Sunday evening, Katherine, the new volunteer arrived and settled in.  The Spoonbills are back nesting at Moeraki We set off on beach searches the next morning, after feeding the penguins in care. As we crossed the fence at the south end, I almost stepped on a sleeping sealion. That woke me up big time! The morning walk was also improved by a call from DOC Auckland to suggest that when people phone me about a stranded penguin from their area, I should encourage them to phone the DOC 0800 number as they now have a network of volunteers to help at all hours!  the sealion On Tuesday, the team arrived. Our plan was to measure the heads of the chicks here and we did so for 13 of the 14. Maybe the other one has already fledged. My pick would be 6 females and 8 males, counting the one that has fledged. In the process we came across 2 injured adult Hoiho and one Snares Crested penguin. They are all in care.  The Snares crested penguin Katherine left on her next adventure on Wednesday morning, thank you Katherine for you help, and I spent the day on domestic tasks until the phone went at about 5pm and the call was about another stranded Erect Crested penguin.  The second Erect crested penguin By the time I had collected it, got it home and settled, it was about 8:30pm. On Thursday, the team came out and we weighed the 6 chicks at Okahau – one male and 5 females! We expect that they will all be gone by the end of next week! I got another call about a stranded Erect crested penguin, but this time it was nearer Christchurch, so I called the Christchurch team, and they uplifted it successfully.  The wild chicks are creching with their neighbour and looking fabulous. Thankfully, Friday and Saturday were quiet as I have already rescued an Erect crested penguin this morning! Have a great week! Rosalie  Growing up fast Hello friends and family We had 7mm of rain overnight and then an improvement in the weather.  Chris, Nora and I in the side-by-side On Monday, we went to Oamaru to stock up on vegan food so Nora and Chris could do the cooking. In the afternoon, we went to the Bluffs, visited Kawariki Bay and had afternoon tea with Murray. The penguins were at home which was wonderful – otherwise it would be hard to believe that they lived there.  Kawariki Bay The team came out on Tuesday, and we weighed the chicks down the hill. Their weight is now fluctuating as they reach full size but if they stay over 5Kg, they are fine. The oldest chicks are now reaching 90 days old, so next week, we will measure their heads to identify their gender. It is not a sure method but is better than doing nothing.  ready to run! On Wednesday, we headed to the Toptip to get a ladle for soup. I seldom have soup, so there was a gap in my kitchen. Nora and Chris were very impressed by the Toptip and I had to prise them out of the shop. The next stop was Jan’s place for coffee and then we went to Trotter’s gorge for a bush walk and to see the cave Wetas. In the afternoon, we cut the last hedge.  Nora feeding Mrs O7 It was raining on Thursday morning when Robbie came out to help with weighing the Okahau chicks. We slipped and sledded but got the job done. All chicks were over 5kg so okay to stay in the wild for another week.  The Terns on Katiki Beach Friday was the last full day for Nora and Chris, so we went on beach searches to check for stranded penguins. We didn’t find any but made the most of a glorious day. In the afternoon they planted a tree each at Okahau.  A Sealion enjoying the sand Saturday was a tough day. It began with a dead chick in hospital the Kawariki chick was suddenly dead. I went back and re-looked at the slides – I now think it died of Malaria. It was the day to farewell Nora and Chris who were great volunteers, they did the cooking and gave me a holiday!  Nora likes to record things visually Have a great week Rosalie |
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