​Hello friends and family
Cool mornings and nice days have been the theme this week. There has been enough wind to be an excuse to stay indoors if required. On Tuesday, we rescued one penguin from down the hill that had been in care but was sick again. We saw the dolphins again! In the afternoon, Murray went to the Bluffs and found another dead penguin. It went off for an autopsy.

​On Thursday we once again, checked the colonies for missing moulters and actually found one. Mrs 121 was in a nest box, weighed 6.9kg, and has yet to moult. She will get a helping hand. In the afternoon, Jan took Tuesday’s penguin down to the wildlife hospital and I potted up Kanuka.

​On Friday I released 3 more penguins that were ready to go and did more cleaning. I got a call to the Moeraki Boulders and picked up a little penguin – freshly moulted and needing help. Yesterday was our red-letter day. We picked up 3 pre-moult penguins. Mrs 147, 25 and Mr 209. On average, penguins come in to moult 21 days after their chicks fledge. We picked up the last of the chicks on 28th February. These ones turned up 60 days later. We are so happy to see them alive.

​Hello friends and family
This has not been an easy week. We are ever hopeful of finding the missing penguins so unproductive monitoring rounds are depressing. The weather has conspired to add to this by being grey, damp, and cold. The rehab penguins are the strugglers, and a bit of drama was added when Mr 299 escaped. We run a rehab, not a prison, so this does happen, but a penguin should not be able to escape from a mosquito-proof enclosure.

​He was first seen in the paddock by Joe on Monday night. I tried to catch him, but he was not having a bar of it, so I left it for the morning when the team were here. There was no sign of him. Rabbit-proof fencing makes it difficult for penguins to get back to the sea from here, but not impossible!

​I was sitting at the computer on Wednesday morning and glanced out the window. There he was, strolling up the drive. I caught him and we released him on Thursday morning after a few good meals of sardines. After the Thursday rounds, a local couple delivered another starving pre-moult adult. This one has not been micro-chipped yet but behaves as if it has been in rehab before. 

​The sun came out for the weekend and Hiltrun came up to do some habitat work. I walked the coast and completed end of season jobs like emptying the chest freezer in the garage, putting the little penguin boxes, and the penguin tent away for the winter. We have 11 penguins in care.

​Hello friends and family.
Disaster was averted this week when the fish arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were down to one box left in the freezer and now, with all 80 boxes here we are set for the next month. 

​On Sunday evening, Jan and I picked up a moulting female Hoiho at Moeraki – only 4.4kgs and yet to moult. She was from the Catlins. On Tuesday we got Mrs 6 who was a respectable 6kg but not enough to moult.

​The rain arrived. Fortunately, not as much as predicted. I did the Toptip on Wednesday morning, pleased to get there on time with a carload of fish boxes and now that we can recycle soft plastic, 3 bags of fish bags! Robbie went down to the Dunedin wildlife hospital to pick up Mr 5 who had had his leg slashed. We are pleased to have him home.  I was able to get gear dry for the next round on Thursday

​We had a full team of 6 on Thursday, braving the rain, hoping to see another needy penguin but having to settle for releasing 4 and enjoying seeing the newly moulted ones in their nest boxes. Sadly, we also found Mr 126 dead at the Moeraki colony. He had been released 10 days before.
This penguin was sponsored as Mr Paddles. He hatched in 2006 and had raised 8 chicks, the last 2 fledged naturally this season. He had been in rehab 6 times. The first 2 times he was injured. After that he was underweight to moult 4 times.

On Friday I went to town and was surprised to see that autumn had arrived in all its glory! It is very picturesque driving from here to Oamaru. Hiltrun came up yesterday and I walked the coast. We are down to 20 penguins in care with more to be released this week.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family - Happy Easter
The penguins keep arriving, and so we keep releasing them when they are ready so it can be a challenge to know how many are here at any given time. On Sunday morning I picked up a penguin off the landing at the Moeraki colony that had moulted but weighed only 4.4 kg. It had been there on Saturday so its choice to stay in was an indicator that all was not well. It was a 2 year old female from here that had nested at Aramoana. She had Malaria. On Tuesday morning we had 50 in care with 18 of our breeders not seen yet.

​The team came out on Monday and we brought in 3 penguins including the 47 pair who were looking so well for a couple of weeks then weighed under 5 kg and still 2 weeks of moulting to go. Tuesday was a day for washing and cleaning ready for the next lot. 

​We went out again on Wednesday and only found one needy penguin – Mrs 90. She fledged 2 chicks and came in, pre-moult, weighing 4.9kg. but she was the only one! We released 5 so maybe we have passed the peak. On Thursday the drama was around undelivered fish. United fisheries had it picked up on Monday morning, but it had not arrived in Dunedin. Long weekend ahead, dwindling fish supplies. I have ordered more which should be here by Wednesday.

We did the rounds on Friday and only picked up one penguin. It was Mr 168. He had started the moult well but after 3 weeks was under 5 kg with a week to go. There are penguins back now, those that we have released are swimming home, resting up for a couple of days and then back out there fishing. Yesterday I picked up Mrs 78 – underweight to moult but at 6.7kg, not as bad as we have seen. Later, I went down the hill and beeped Mrs 96. She is the only female that we know for sure moulted unassisted. We have 8 females unaccounted for.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
This week has been much like last week. We are finding needy penguins often. Robbie came out on Sunday and we picked up 3 more. On Tuesday we were joined by Puawai, from Kai Tahu and Richard and Hendrick from the Dunedin DOC office. They did the rounds with us and helped carry the 6 penguins that we rescued up the hill to safety. 

​At lunchtime we got the eagerly awaited call – our fish was on its way. We were down to less than a week’s supply and NZ King Salmon has no more smolt for us. It was United Fisheries in Christchurch to the rescue once again and we packed 200kg into the freezer that will last a couple of weeks.
This fish is pilchards/sardines from the Atlantic ocean. They are easy feeding fish of a useful size. We have probably taken them from the mouths of other penguins but the need here is dire.

​I went to town on Wednesday to buy a grinder so we can cut circles for trees more easily. It rained most of the day and got very cold. This made for a cold start first thing on Thursday. We quickly warmed up. Just down the hill in pebble bay was an injured penguin. It was Mr 5 who had made it through the moult unaided, but he was only 5 kgs with a nasty wound to his leg. Barb took him down to the Wildlife hospital. Around the corner was Mr 20, home to moult and underweight. He came in.

After morning tea we took 4 penguins to the Moeraki colony to release. We let them out by the gate then started the rounds. Halfway round, on the side of a scrubby, muddy bank was Mr 121 – welcome home! He needed a helping hand too! By the time we got to the lookout, the 4 released penguins were making their way into the roaring seas. What a treat to see them head out, full of purpose and ready to be free.
5 minutes later, we heard a penguin call at Kevin’s bush. It was Mrs 185, just released – she swam home faster than we walked it. She also greeted the moulting neighbour with great enthusiasm.
Friday was another chance to advocate for the penguins as it was the Hui for the Katiki Historic reserve. It started with a walk around the reserve and I got the opportunity to point out the out of control Poroporo. I read my update that explained how dire the situation is for the penguins. In the afternoon, I completed a funding application and Jan came out to help with the afternoon feeding. It is so good to have her help with this.
Yesterday Hiltrun and I brought in 3 more underweight breeders which takes the number of unseen breeders to around 20. She also saw the falcon back in the reserve.
Have a great week!
Rosalie