 Jan feeding Randy Hello friends and family Two weeks ago, I headed up to Christchurch and picked daughter Maria, up from the airport. We went to our motel across the road from the Riccarton Mall and settled in. The next morning, I was admitted to hospital for some serious maintenance. I was able to go back to the motel the next day and on Thursday, Maria drove me home. While I was away, the team rescued 2 needy penguins and cared for the 3 that were already in care.  White fronted terns on the ramp by Fleurs I am on light duties for the near future which is character building! Maria was doing the hard graft and I am laying about, doing my best to rest.  Mrs 139 looking fabulous Robbie and Jan came out on Tuesday to do the rounds and released Mr 83 to complete the moult at his nest site. We were joined by Lindsey on Thursday and the team rescued 3 underweight moulters.  a glorious sunrise at a civilized hour! Hiltrun, Trii and Elaine came out yesterday and did the honours, not finding any penguins in need of help but checking the reserves carefully so no penguin gets missed. Have a great week! Rosalie   free Hello friends and family On Tuesday we released the Royal penguin. The place seems quiet without him. He would always call whenever I walked past and lived up to his reputation for being a very social species. Megan and Oscar were up here to see him go. He took about 20 minutes to orient himself, and then he was off! We also saw most of our breeding pairs moulting and a Dusky dolphin with her calf.  Mr and Mrs KB On Thursday we found flipper bird home again, hopefully to begin the moult. I had big misgivings about letting her go after her injury last month, but she was unhappy in care and it has all worked out well.  before and after the moult We also picked up the breeding pair from Katiki Beach because they were in an exposed spot. Just as well because she was underweight, and he was marginal. It turns out that she is a 2-year-old from the Moeraki colony which explains why her chicks were struggling as is she. Without our help, the whole family would have died. Both of them have been in care before so know how to eat nicely so it will be very low stress for them to see out the moult here.  local abundance - Spotted shags Elaine came out on Saturday and we took their bloods. Both looked good! We let Mrs 47 go to complete the moult at her nest and the skinny juvenile from last week is now a free bird at the Moeraki colony. We opened the door of the soft release pen for the last of the 60 chicks to go. We are very proud of our efforts with the chicks this season. Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family And then it was March! The weather has warmed up at last. Harvest in the garden continues. I have stayed off the bike this week – resting the butt and walking a bit more. Paul, Jen and Olivia took a few days for a southern adventure and then came back on Wednesday.  the social moulters Paul took me to Dunedin hospital on Thursday morning for a bit of maintenance and Robbie and Lindsey did the rounds. They saw 73 beautiful, moulting penguins in the colony and all the chicks had gone. On Friday, the family and I went for a bush walk at Trotters gorge. It was so peaceful, and the only sound was the calls of fantails and bellbirds.  Family swim time! Elaine and Hiltrun came out on Saturday and we picked up a skinny moulter. We are ticking off the breeding pairs as they come back into moult. We can guess who they are by their location so there is no need to get close to them. There are only 6 penguins in care and the Royal will go on Tuesday so it is a very quiet season so far!  Some penguins just sleep in their puddle of feathers Have a great week! Rosalie |
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January 2025
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