 Juveniles at the Moeraki landing Hello friends and family On Monday I went to Oamaru to have some maintenance done – a skin cancer removed from my foot. It was so much easier than going to Dunedin and I am committed enough to happy healing that I took it very easy this week. I have 9 external stitches and many inside the wound to draw it together.  what 2.8 Kg looks like On Tuesday I sat with my foot elevated above my heart and did very little, treating myself on a regular basis to yummy fruit. Jan visited on Wednesday and it was great to hear about her travels and house plans. I added inside jobs and on Thursday, added yard jobs – watering plants included as we have had only 1 mm of rain in the last 2 weeks.  Nature's abundance - note the seals on the left So, I followed my own advice (very hard) and stayed off my feet for as much as possible and then on Thursday afternoon I opened the gate of the soft release pen and decided to check the beach. Sure enough, there was a juvenile penguin on the sand – at first I thought it was Bert, having left the soft release pen immediately but no, it was another one! And then I noticed it was standing by a 3rd Juvenile that could barely stand up. I brought this one into care -2.8 Kg and a sore throat. Lucky penguin!  Stinging nettle So, Friday was my day to resume monitoring rounds and I set off with great excitement, wearing tramping boots as directed by the doctor, and there was not a single penguin to be seen. Usually one or two stay home but they had all gone out so the reserves were very quiet with only rabbits and seals at home.  Penguin habitat I rescued a penguin from a dog at Kaik 1 on Saturday and so now there are 2 in care. Thank you Richard for completing our accounts.
Have a great week! Rosalie  Having a day off Hello friends and family Last week’s conference kicked off with a presentation from Leanne (Sydney) where they get over 1000 calls a day for a native animal that needs to be rescued. It was very informative. She was followed by a trustee from Predator free NZ. Then Lisa spoke about the Wild-life hospital for Dunedin. Kate from DOC did a workshop on identifying survivable injuries in different species, and after a rehabber from Coromandel, I spoke about penguin rehabilitation. After that we had a lizard PHD student talk and 2 rehabbers with case studies. A great day!  On Sunday, we heard about IT systems to administer rescues and then it was an update from the Nest at Wellington Zoo, Claire spoke about operation nest egg for Kiwi and the ranger from Zealandia spoke. Janelle spoke of bird rescue in India and Shalsee from RSPCA talked about cat management. I then had a walk around Zealandia and had to go to the airport – others went to the Nest at Wellington Zoo. An excellent conference all round. Next year it will be in Christchurch.  Bert, our last penguin is now in soft release I did the rounds on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, started cutting the hedges and repairing the asparagus patch. I did the bees here and at Owen’s. On Thursday, the walk-in freezer arrived and so the logistics problems sourcing fish for penguins is now solved. I feel very blessed.  all ready and waiting This was a week of YEP publicity with Otago University staff going public with their concerns about the extinction of YEPs. They have published a paper on their research ( https://peerj.com/articles/3272/ ).  cubic beauty Forest and Bird called for a joint effort to save the Yellow-eyed penguins but Sue of the YEPT is already working with DOC and Ngai Tahu and would not use the word “extinct”. I have observed no evidence of this work since 2015, (The stocktake -no actual conservation) but have seen many people harassing the penguins here at Katiki point on a daily basis since then, with the blessing of both DOC and Ngai Tahu.  Ignoring signs The white at these people’s feet is penguin poo. They have jumped the fence behind them to get closer to penguins.
Have a great week! Rosalie  Penguins relaxing Hello friends and family With a few days of glorious weather, I was able to get the bees checked on Monday and had a session with the gorse at Hampden on Tuesday. My job with the bees was to remove the Varroa treatment strips and I was pleased with the number of bees in each hive. The boxes were very heavy which tells me that they have a good supply of honey for the winter. I have 5 more to do next week.  Kaka beak blooming in the Moeraki colony The goal of clearing gorse on Tuesday was to be able to fence around the Hazelnut trees so the sheep could go back into the bottom sections. I was pleased with my efforts and will get more done next week, weather permitting.  Just chatting before heading off to go fishing Wednesday was my day at the Top-tip shop and a chance to catch up with locals including Patrick who came out in the afternoon and emptied his freezer. He plans to take it away on Sunday. I now have no excuses to not do a bit of maintenance on the bee hives stored in the shed. I will be able to get more of them under cover too.  Another basket fungus It was also the day that DOC announced their draft conservation plan for 150 endangered species. I immediately looked it up and Yellow-eyed penguins are on the list – the only penguin species. There is a focus on using science to inform spending - Maybe this means we may get some funding – I am forever hopeful (naïve!)  The lighthouse is beginning to look fantastic again Stewart also phoned on Wednesday evening to let me know that we have trapped our first stoat at shag point. After we installed them, I went online to You tube and found out how to use the setting tool correctly – much better!
I left for the conference first thing on Friday – more about that next week. Have a great week Rosalie  and it is hello from us! Hello friends and family On Sunday, we had a bitterly cold southerly storm come through and the team repairing the lighthouse arrived. They will be here for at least another week, grinding, blasting and repairing the rotting timber. Then they will paint it.  the harassment of the wildlife continues - no penguins so lets upset the seals! My painting is progressing well with 3 walls complete, including the windows, except the doors which are next on the list. On Monday, the gravel arrived to make the base of the new walk-in freezer and so I have been shoveling gravel all week!  this weeks challenge - make good use of the gravel There was enough to fill the freezer base, upgrade a few penguin pens and level off the drive. I met Jenny for lunch in Oamaru on Thursday. She has a new car – a blue beetle that is very cool and she was looking wonderful.  the only penguin staying home this week I was down to one penguin in care and it is progressing well, so I took the cage off the back of the truck to transport the traps to Shag Point and of course, I got in another penguin. It moulted as a juvenile down the hill here and was roosting beside the main road and had to be moved.  The new paint job. Yesterday was glorious and perfect for installing the traps at Shag point. Elaine, Jan, Stewart and myself put in the trap line and I feel very proud of everyone’s efforts as we were working in difficult terrain with slippery clay banks to traverse.  this week's challenge complete My truck was fantastic once again, transporting the heavy traps to the top of the hill so we only had to carry them downhill. They are strategically placed, baited with lures and eggs, waiting for the predators to arrive.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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