 nest selection is a time consuming business Hello friends and family The week got off to a slow start – light drizzle for the day on Sunday and such a short day on Monday! We did the rounds on Tuesday and Robbie came out on Wednesday to clear some trees.  glorious winter sky On Thursday we only found happy adult penguins at home and in the afternoon, the sun came out. Even better, 150 kg of fish arrived after we had tidied up the freezer. All good.  The evidence left until the next tide Yesterday we did the rounds and saw a juvenile in an unusual place, so we beeped it and weighed it. It was 10103, the chick from the Bluffs! It weighed 5.4 Kg and is doing just fine. Hiltrun took the dog attack victim to the Dunedin Wildlife hospital on her way home.  Just having a day off fishing 30th June marks the end of the 2020/21 season. It was the best for many years. All the hard work of our dedicated team of volunteers came together for the penguins and we fledged 60 chicks from 45 nests using all the tools to hand – fostering, treating at the nest, hand raising and soft release. We all do it for the penguins, who can be very ungrateful at times.  The mist rises from the ocean Yesterday when I released Mr 30 after his Malaria treatment he crowed and crowed, with great gusto – I thought he was saying thank you – no – Mrs 30 was at home and so he was just saying “honey I’m home”! Have a great week! Rosalie   heading home with a juvie in tow Hello friends and family The week started off mild but foggy or drizzly. Ideal conditions for our newly transferred flaxes and tussock and fungi.  lots of promises but mostly drizzle Our vigilance after the Canterbury storms paid off this week and we rescued a Juvenile Yellow-eyed penguin on Tuesday that was only 4.3 Kg and had no micro-chip so is not from Otago. The PCR tests from 2 of our other penguins in care came back positive for Malaria and so they have been treated for this.  fabulous fungi On Thursday we picked up Mr 30 who was reluctant to stand up. His bloods looked fine, and by this morning he was standing and eating. Maybe he had been fighting with the neighbour and was exhausted!  winter food for Bellbirds Yesterday it stopped raining for the afternoon so Hiltrun and I did some chain sawing at the Moeraki colony. Elaine came and read the bloods -the unmarked penguin has Malaria so it is now being treated.  Another great slide prepared by Elaine Have a great week! Rosalie  A day at home for our northern most pair Hello friends and family The weeks are marching on and soon we will reach the end of the season. It runs from 1 July to 30 June, to match the penguin’s life cycle as best as we can. Our goal is to have all the hospital enclosures deep cleaned by the end of the month. Lindsey and Margie have become expert stone throwers and make the job seem easy.  Breeding plumage is appearing in the spotted shags In the reserves, we are preparing nest boxes so the penguins are as secluded as possible. At this time of the year, it is usual to not see any penguins when we do our rounds in the morning. They are going fishing then and start to come home at about 2 pm.  Fat mum, fat pup On Thursday we decided to check the Little Penguins on the island and when we got there, we were treated by a small pod of dolphins fishing right in close to the rocks. I am not good at photographing dolphins, and as usual, ended up with pictures of splashes!  Preparing a new nest site The Hampden house is almost ready to be rented out. The landscaper is coming in this week to gravel all the paths, sort out the drainage and the drive. Then it will become a home for someone. It is listed with Essential Property management in Oamaru who manage other properties in Hampden. Have a great week! Rosalie  Two juveniles keeping company down the hill Hello friends and family We were very lucky with the rain – about 30 mm of gentle stuff over 3 days. On Monday I went down the hill in the rain to rescue a juvie YEP that had been at home for 3 days and only weighed 4 Kgs. I saw 3 juvies there which was a treat. In the afternoon, Robbie and I went to the end of season meeting at DOC in Dunedin. The final numbers for the season were not analysed so we can expect more of the same next season.  Rough seas It was too soft on Tuesday to drive down to the Moeraki colony so we parked t the top of the hill and put up the electric fence for sheep protection while we were there. I did the Toptip in Wednesday morning and in the afternoon, drove back to Dunedin to give a talk to the 60+ group, located in the First Church hall.  Two happy juvenile penguins There were about 120 people there and halfway through my talk, an elderly woman in the middle of the hall collapsed. What to do! Carry on was the instruction – not easy to do and not my best presentation ever. The ambulance team came and took her into the foyer where she was attached to a heart monitor and eventually pronounced okay.  Rain brings fungus On Thursday we released 2 of the juvies on care and took bloods from the new one. The remaining 2 are now located in the hospital so I can clean the Hugo wing. We also got the news on Thursday that our bid for funding from the ‘jobs for nature’ fund was unsuccessful.  Seal soup! Hiltrun, Trii and Rachel joined Elaine and I on Saturday and next week Hiltrun will start chain sawing the fallen branches. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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Penguin Rescue is a member of the Wildlife Rehabilitators Network of New Zealand
Thank you to our sponsors;
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HAMPDEN COMMUNITY ENERGYAUSTIN COMPANY
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Hugo Charitable Trust
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