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Hello friends and family – Happy Easter! This week started with a couple of road trips. I took an injured chick down to Dunedin on Sunday afternoon and picked up our wandering chick from Timaru on Monday. Thomas had cared for it in Christchurch, and we met in the middle.  Having a day at home We had no new patients on Tuesday or Thursday. The breeders are slowly coming home, at good weights, so they do not need our help. This is a blessing because our 900kg of fish supplies is now down to about 49kg. The penguins in care are slowly completing their moult and can be released.  The seals keep a watch on us as we move past Some settled weather would be great! Cleaning is nearly a full-time job! The team came out on Thursday, and we found another 4 penguins returned to moult and all at good weights. It was windy – and again on Friday. This morning it is overcast but still – a great day for monitoring penguins!  Ready to go back to the wild Have a great week! Rosalie   social time - the morning commute at Okahau Hello friends and family We have passed the equinox and slowly the number of penguins left to moult is slowing down. We will do a count on 1 April, as any not starting the moult by then will be uplifted to give them support.  a pair moulting together On Tuesday we brought in 6 and released 6. On Thursday we brought in 4 and released 4. This included the Tawaki and the first failed fledgling. Both were good weights and are now back in the wild. Jan has been coming out and helping with the evening feed. It is not hard work but can be very messy.  one happy Tawaki On Friday morning at 9am there were 9 penguins on the beach at Okahau, including the Tawaki released on Thursday, – keeping gentlemen’s hours now that they have moulted. Yesterday was a busy one – I released a pair of penguins after breakfast and then did a special deep clean for the penguin that I later picked up from the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. It had been there 5 weeks for deep feet wounds and is now home to moult.  my freshly painted house I water blasted in the afternoon and around 6pm the rain arrived. We got 11mm which will break the drought! Have a great week! Rosalie  Mr 88 is magnificent. Hello friends and family, The pattern of penguins coming and going continues as we work our way through the season. The penguins coming in to moult now are our breeders. These are early days, but the temptation is to make a roll call of who we have seen and who has not come home yet, but that will only create stress!  The 44s are home to moult. Our fledged chicks have been very adventurous. One has been found in Kaikoura, one in Timaru, one at Shag point and one downtown Dunedin! These 4 chicks were all natural fledges so who knows what instructions their parents gave them!  The big dry continued until Friday when we got 11mm of rain, along with a temperature drop. On my trip to town on Wednesday, I could not miss the autumn colors – I am just getting into the swing of summer!  too soon. Fortunately, I decided to get a man in to paint the house and he finished it on Thursday. He cut the big hedge as well. I am on a roll here. I decided to get an electric lawn mower to save carting my mower to Hampden to mow the lawns there. I have not yet decided which mower I will keep where. The new one is much lighter than the old one.  All done and dusted! Have a great week! Rosalie  Waiting for help on the landing. Hello friends and family. Sunday was a busy day. Rick from Alpine salmon kindly brought us 160Kg of salmon smolt from the hatchery near Twizel. It was fresh and so getting it frozen as quickly as possible was a priority. What a great opportunity for the penguins to get the best nutrition! Thank you, Alpine Salmon.  another glorious suunset at the lighthouse Later in the day, there was a knock on the door. A tour guide had seen a limping penguin on the beach. I went down straight away, but the penguin had died. It was Mr. 30. His injuries were at a level I had seen other penguins survive, but Mr. 30 was a Malaria survivor which may have affected his ability to handle shock.  The gulls, waiting out the gale. The team came on Tuesday, and we did the rounds. We are finding male penguins at good weights and females in the 6-7kg range, so needing a helping hand. We brought in 6 penguins who will moult with us and then be released. We let 2 go and 4 more went on Wednesday, including the Tawaki, who was ready to go, but the gale force sou’westerlies are not what he needs for heading home.  Pied Shags are moving in now that the Spotted Shags have gone. Mrs. 79 died in care on Wednesday morning, and it was a surprise as she was not that badly injured. I took some bloods and found Malaria. Elaine came out and did a catchup of the bloods. Most seemed clear. They will now go down to Noi for confirmation. Elaine has begun training the team to be able to prepare blood slides too.  State highway 1 the day after the Pink concert. Murray and Robbie checked the Bluffs and came back with 4 penguins needing help.  Free from rehab and settling back at home. This takes the total in care to 26. Today I will be releasing 3 who have completed their moult and are looking fabulous! Have a great week! Rosalie  magnificent Hello friends and family, Another quiet start to the week. It is now getting very dry here and watering is on top of the list. I am harvesting courgettes, carrots, tomatoes, and beans at present. On Sunday, the chicks in soft release fledged and all the chicks in the colony have gone.  first day home together to begin the moult The team came out on Tuesday and the day began with a Tawaki rescue at the Moeraki Boulders. Searching for underweight and injured penguins is the top of the list at this time of the season. Often the penguins underweight have minor foot injuries which would become enough to cause big problems without help. We picked up 3 underweight moulters at Okahau. The last 3 pre-fledge chicks went to soft release and fledged on Friday afternoon.  penguins love to stand on trap boxes I went to town on Wednesday. The drying out scenery is almost autumnal, but I am still in summer mode. Some drizzle mid-week was a good excuse to do little! On Thursday morning we found another 3 needy penguins and Jan stayed and cleaned out the pens.  Going walk about during the moult The end of the week was quiet too. The weather was good and the 22 penguins in care are all making steady progress. Someone stole the wooden penguin from the gate so we will replace it with another one. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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