 A Yellow-eyed penguin in the morning sun. Hello friends and family. Well this was the first week with no penguins in hospital here. I have definitely slowed down a bit – happy to potter around, cut a hedge, dig a garden – stew some apples! In the afternoon I walk to Okahau Point to feed the penguins in the soft release pen.  A Juvenile - a returned chick looking fabulous. One of the 2 YEP chicks in the soft release pen has gone now and the Crested penguin is moulting well. We picked up a new juvenile that needs a helping hand so it is at Okahau Point with the Crested penguin for company. The new YEP is underweight and seems exhausted – it sleeps a lot!  Yellow-eyed penguins socializing on the beach Hiltrun came up on Thursday night and we did the monitoring rounds on Friday morning. It was clearly a day when all of the penguins went fishing as the reserve was empty. It seemed like a good time to work on the landing area at Harry’s Bay. When we went down there, we found 2 seal pups trapped on the wrong side of the fence. It took us both quite some time to de-construct the fence enough to push the pups through. They may look cute but their teeth require respect.  A juvenile checking in on mum and dad who will not feed him again. It is very edifying to see the juvenile Yellow-eyed penguins returning. An early return has been a sign, in the past of a good season and surely the penguins are in need of one.  A beautiful autumn sunset The days are definitely getting shorter and I have got some seeds for winter greens to plant. The drought continues and many small to mid-sized plants are drooping badly. Let’s hope for rain.
Have a great week Rosalie  Time to go fishing! Hello friends and family There are no penguins here in care. The last 2 chicks are in the soft release pen, the Crested is finishing the moult by the beach and the adult YEP is back with his partner, several Kgs heavier and in a fit state to survive the winter.  A seal pup checking out a penguin house for size. I am still checking the beaches regularly, but have time for some autumn activities like harvesting apples and Robyn gave me some walnuts to dry for the winter. I am still making bread and cheese each week and enjoying that too! At times the kitchen looks like a bomb site.  A returned juvenile, looking fabulous! On Monday I had an appointment in Dunedin so took the chance to deliver some firewood to Chris and Hiltrun, and to bring back some plumbing for the planned expansion of habitat at Okahau point. We are very lucky and will get some funding from Speights in Dunedin to make new nest sites where the sheep are grazing, so it will be a busy winter.  A moulting Snares Crested penguin. Chris and Hiltrun came up on Friday with Chris’s brother Peter and the plumbing was successfully installed. Hiltrun and I did the monitoring rounds and some habitat maintenance and then some watering. The weather has been glorious and with only 6 mm of rain during the week, the drought continues.  A visiting NZ sealion. There has been a number of tourists thinking that they can freedom camp here in the car park. There are plenty of notices telling them that they cannot, but when you turn up after dark, the notices are invisible. I tell them that it will cost them $200 to stay and so they move. Very tedious!
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family.  bringing gifts - even in Autumn! I am enjoying the cooler nights of autumn and the slowing down of penguin related activity. This is because the birds are doing well and I have only found one in need of help. The garden needs tidying up and the fruit needs to be picked. Monday and Tuesday were quiet and the sea was calm so I released a couple of penguins from the soft release pens.  Brown bunnies enjoying the sunshine Wednesday is town day and I was lucky enough to catch up with Raewyn. She is well and planning a trip to Arrowtown. On Wednesday night I spoke to the local Lions group. They were unaware of the fragile state of the penguins in our area and I wonder how to help people become better informed.  Is there anymore fish? On Thursday I hosted a school visit which was a pleasure as the children were well behaved and prepared with good questions. Chris and Hiltrun arrived on Thursday night and we did the monitoring rounds on Friday. There were quite a few penguins at home for the day, but yesterday they all went fishing!  A young male NZ Sea lion visiting. We had a total of 11 mm of rain in March and none so far in April. After Easter it once again took 2 weeks for us to have water at the reserve for the small trees so yesterday that was the main task for me. We are watering new trees, flaxes and tussocks and are planning to plant another 120 as soon as the ground softens with the much awaited rain.  Looking fabulous with new feathers We now have 3 penguins here and 4 in soft release.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family.  Beautiful with new feathers and all day to play. I hope you had an enjoyable break over Easter and have enjoyed it as much as I did. On Sunday we did some beach searches for stranded penguins, visited the Moeraki Boulders and ate chocolate. On Monday we went out fishing and saw beautiful Albatross, Antarctic petrels and Mollymawks.  Daniel indulging his Nanny home jobs. I have apples to process and if I do a pot full each day, I will stay on top of the crop which is wonderful this year. Wednesday was town day and Lucy visited in the afternoon.  Albatross within an arm's reach, On Thursday my beach searches found another Yellow-eyed penguin chick that needs a helping hand. What with all of the coming and going in the hospital, we now have 7 penguins in care.  Last of the breeders to moult. Chris and Hiltrun came up on Friday afternoon and we hosted Trudy from the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust in Dunedin. She is a scientist wanting to save penguins as we do!  A Little Shag tidying his feathers There is a touch of autumn in the air these days and I enjoyed my extra hour of sleep as daylight savings kicked in. For the first time this year, the car park was empty for more than an hour.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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