 Our current supervisor - keeping us amused as we work. Hello friends and family It is now so dry that we have started intensive watering of our new trees. Last winter we waited for the rain and ended up not planting much at all, so this year we are planting regardless of rainfall and will just keep the tap on!  The seals climb the hill to see who ends up on top On Saturday we opened the soft release pen and by Monday, one of the chicks had gone. The other was slower out of the colony and did not leave so we brought it back in on Thursday. A blood test revealed a bacterial infection. I released a little penguin on Tuesday so was down to only 2 in care.  This unseasonal Kowhai attracts Bellbirds to the lighthouse On Thursday we picked up an adult female that was only 3.5 Kg. Blood tests showed both a bacterial infection and Malaria. She will be with us for a few weeks to get back up to a normal weight. Robbie arrived with some plants from the Yellow-eyed penguin Trust nursery – thank you so much YEPT!  Elaine has the trees trembling! On Friday we got a new chick in. It weighs only 2.9 Kg, has Malaria and a bacterial infection. We will do our best for it. Yesterday Hiltrun and Elaine came to do some clearing in the Moeraki colony. Hiltrun brought up another trailer load of trees. The weather was glorious and the sea beautiful. It was the day that I completed a run of 1000 days playing a game on my phone called FLOW. I only play the daily free puzzle and this milestone reflects how dull things can be around here because I still enjoy it!
Have a great week! Rosalie  May magnificence! Hello friends and family Elaine and Hiltrun came out on Sunday and began the habitat upgrade at the Moeraki colony. This involves clearing up fallen trees and keeping access for penguins and humans open – The key piece of equipment is a chain saw!  Telling fish stories On Monday I used up all the scrap netting that had accumulated over the summer and made enough tree circles to protect all the trees planted so far. On Tuesday, Robbie cut another 50 and so we will clip them up and hopefully be able to stay ahead of the planting! Later in the day, Kristina and Thomas brought two of our chicks home, that had floundered north of Christchurch. Both chicks were in excellent condition, so on Wednesday morning we took them to soft release where they will stay for a few days to orient themselves before re-joining the local flock.  Seal pups love penguin boxes Michelle and Charlie came and watered the trees as the big dry continues. Elaine collected 50 Narrow-leafed Olerias from the nursery in Dunedin for planting in the most exposed spots. I spent Thursday morning at a video conference about the most recent penguin season. This was quite exhausting, trying to do the best for the penguins. It was a relief to spend a few hours afterwards, planting trees!  The workhorse / wonder truck in action On Friday I went to town early and then had a video conference with the AAPK (American association of Penguin Keepers). This one was on Zoom, and by blocking their video and sound, I was able to talk to about 25 people from all over the states. We have seen videos on Facebook of penguins walking around in empty zoos. These are challenging times for the whole world.  Home time for penguins Yesterday Hiltrun and Elaine continued with their colony clearing and I walked the coast. 4 of our chicks have been found so far, and if any more need a hand, we have to keep looking to find them!
Have a great week! Rosalie  Penguin politics Hello friends and family It feels like freedom again! I have been so lucky with the whole Covid 19 scenario – most of what I needed to do could be done in the lockdown, but it is great to have it behind us. For a time, the team was at a low energy level, but now we are looking forward to our 500-tree challenge and next season.  The last day of an empty car park We have cleaned the hospital and our attention has now moved to Robbie’s rehab which needs serious work done on the floor. It will be reshaped for better drainage and new internal divisions put in, so the penguins do not jump pens quite so often.  Scabbards to keep us safe crafted by Anne  An artwork in Dunedin by a talented Penguin Rescuer! We have started planting trees at the Moeraki colony. On Tuesday we planted 12 and on Thursday we planted 20. On our way home, we were treated to some whale sightings. There was a small pod of small whales off the coast and they were breaching so we got a good look at them. Spotting whales does not lend itself to cell-phone photography. The tiny black dot in the vast swathe of blue does not capture the magic!  A rare NZ broom that we planted in the colony On Friday I went to town for the first time in over a month, to collect stakes and wire netting for the trees. There was not a lot of people about and I did not have to wait long to get into the shops I needed to go to. Kiwi Bank was closed so thank goodness for online banking.
Have a great week! Rosalie  A young male checking out the territory Hello friends and family Sunday is my shopping day under lockdown, so I headed out to Hampden to the 4 Square. The free rubbish drop-off is over, there was no need to go to the tip, so I went to the orchard instead, harvested some apples and pears and then came home. The autumn colours are now abundant in both Moeraki and Hampden, with the pick of them all being the trees at the Wheeler’s place!  Little penguins sunning themselves The weather forecast has been dour, so I have been doing reserve jobs in the morning and then yard jobs in the afternoon – mostly, that is – unless gravity wins, and I blob out in the afternoon! That was the story for Monday and Tuesday! On Wednesday I deep cleaned the Aviary – 2 hours of water blasting so I recon I have balanced the books!  We have a lot more fantails this year The team came on Thursday and we cleared the rocks from the hospital pens. This meant I could waterblast it on Friday morning. The next step to clean it is to let it dry completely before swilling it out with Vircon, a very effective sterilizing agent. We opened the hatch for foot bird to go on Thursday and he left, which left me with only 3 Little penguins in care.  Autumn glory By yesterday, 2 of the Little penguins were ready to leave, and a stranded Spotted shag arrived so it is very quiet here in the hospital. We have been spending time going over the numbers from this season to determine where improvements can be made for next year.  The sheep look like a necklace draped around the hill. In the meantime, I look forward to a week of throwing rocks!
Have a great week! Rosalie  So beautiful Hello friends and family We enjoyed a quiet start to the week. The team gathered on Tuesday morning – the first day of level 3 lock down and acknowledged that we had all handled level 4 well and felt confidence that New Zealand was on the right track. We all have family affected economically so understand that the need to get mobile again is urgent.  How do I get out of here? On Thursday we took the last 2 YEPs in care to the Moeraki colony. One was released and the other is in soft release until his foot is a bit better. His health could easily go backwards if I kept him here on his own. In soft release he can see the ocean and the wild penguins as they come and go fishing.  Autumn fungi in the forest I heard from my house builders – 22 July is the expected delivery date, so I had better get started clearing the gorse! I will have to wait until level 2 to go there as it is not essential travel. The free rubbish disposal at the tip was too good to last long but I did get rid of 6 bags of rubbish. I will still do my weekly shop on a Sunday anyway.  The 5th member of our team! On Saturday I got 3 Little Penguins that need rehabilitation. I think they will only need a week or so to fatten up and then they will be on their way. The autumn weather has been amazing. I have even got down to shorts and a tee shirt on some days. Today is a jacket and gloves day so far!
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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