​Hello friends and family
It was a great start to the week weather wise and so I attacked the big hedge in the morning, and in the afternoon, thought I might take a bike ride on our empty road. Tires pumped, I switched the bike on, and it surged forward. That was the last sign of life it showed, so I had to push it up the hills!

​When I got home, there was no water in the taps – the tank was full, so the pump had died. On a Sunday, during level 4 lock-down, I figured that the best thing to do was wait until Monday. I phoned the electrician who sent out a pump specialist. He installed the new, very colourful pump in no time at all. What a relief!

​Robbie came on Tuesday morning and in the afternoon, I got the e-bike to go again, by fiddling with the battery. Another 2 sections of fence by the water tanks are now laced with electric fence wire. Wednesday morning was my day to get my ‘click and collect’ from the supermarket. I dropped off 2 free bags of rubbish on the way and was home in time to finish the big hedge before lunch. It was last cut in the last lockdown – April 2020!

​On Thursday, Robbie and I noticed a change in the colony. Instead of nest building, some males were at home sitting in the nest. The penguins have started calling in mid-afternoon, so they too are feeling the stirrings of spring.

The rain arrived on Friday. It was only 8 mm but very welcome. It means that the penguins are more likely to choose a dry nestbox for their nest.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
Spring seems to have arrived in North Otago. While the rest of the country is having storms, we are enjoying gentle breezes and sunshine. On Sunday and Monday, my prime job was to prepare the laundry for the new penguin prep bench. I scraped, sanded, bogged and masked the area and painted it.

​After the team had gone on Tuesday, it got its second coat of paint so is now ready for new shelves and bench.  The plan is to have all penguin paraphernalia in one place – that will be awesome! We saw one penguin on Tuesday morning with nesting material in his beak and the gulls are beginning to flock and check out nesting sites – they will not nest for another couple of months.

​And then we had lockdown! My planned holiday to the north island was cancelled.
During the last lockdown, it was the busy season and so the whole team, socially distancing and staying outside, continued with the penguin work. We were monitoring the health of the colonies during moulting time, which is when they are most vulnerable.
This time it is the downtime for the year and so on Thursday, only Robbie came out and we rebaited all the traps with eggs. This will keep them operational for 2 weeks while things settle down and we know what is going to happen. Then he cut the outshoots at the top of the hedge which were likely to take the power out at any time.
On Friday, I got word that my daughter’s family are in isolation as Bryan had attended an event with a person who has now tested positive for COVID. He has been tested and the family are waiting for the results. Just as well the adventure was cancelled. 

​On Saturday I heard that Stewart’s wife, Helen has died. Helen had been ill for quite some time. We will all miss her gracious, kind style. Whenever I visited them at Shag Point, Helen would always give me the best seat in the house and make a cuppa. She had lived in places around the world and was full of stories. May she rest in peace.

​Hello friends and family
The week started off very chilly, and it was hard to get motivated to do anything much. As time went by, the temperatures warmed up and so we did get some jobs done. One of them was to rip the cupboards out of the laundry, in preparation for new shelves which will be wide enough to hold the penguin gear.

​Soon, the joiner will come and measure up for the new bench, on which I will be able to prepare food and meds for the penguins in care. Our current patient has completed his antibiotics and Malarone so will be able to go as soon as he is up to weight.

​During the week, the team completed the winter planting, just in time for the plants to get a nice shower on Thursday night. I have put the Kakabeaks destined for spring planting in a penguin pen to harden up and the hothouse is almost empty. I am going to spray it out this winter as the aphids moved in last summer so that was not ideal.
The penguins are not coming home early this winter. I hear them down the hill at about 5 pm, I think the dirty water has made them swim further out for a feed. It is finally starting to show signs of clearing up after months of rough seas.

Yesterday I went to Oamaru in the morning for my first COVID jab. I was not scheduled to get it for another month but phoned and got it brought forward. Hiltrun and Elaine did the rounds down here and in the process, met up with Bruce McInlay and so he and his wife joined us for a cuppa. In the afternoon we did the rounds at Okahau and cleared some more broken trees.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
On Sunday I picked up another wee penguin who needs help. Elaine came out in the afternoon and so her blood sample was able to be checked at the university on Tuesday. On Monday I prepared the gear for planting 10 trees on Tuesday, so the job only took a few minutes. There were no penguins at home on Tuesday when we did the rounds. The cameras are only catching a handful of penguins coming home.

​Wednesday was my day for the Toptip. I do enjoy catching up with the locals who support the shop so well. We planted another 16 plants on Thursday.
Yesterday was the annual symposium for Yellow-eyed penguins, held at the university in Dunedin. The morning involves reports from the field staff and Hiltrun delivered our report very proficiently. It was almost as if some of the audience actually listened this season, but of course I always think that!

​A co-leader of the governance group gave us an update on where things stand and made it clear that we had to follow the plan or there would be no resourcing at a national level. I spoke to her later and explained that their failure to acknowledge our existence means we do not get DOC funding.  
The people are all very nice but there is a disconnect. Most of our team members spoke out in frustration and so the 37th YEP symposium is now over.

​Hello friends and family
Winter has continued to be kind to us – days over 10 degrees and times with no wind. On Monday, I even had to mow the lawns – unheard of down here in wintertime.
On Tuesday Margie and Lindsey came out and we released the Juvenile from care. We took him to the Moeraki colony then after lunch, went down the hill here – he was back already! We had gone back down the hill to collect blood samples from female penguins to assess their overall health, to ensure that they are able to produce healthy eggs next month. It is very unusual for us to handle the penguins in winter. It was interesting to learn that the males were all around 6 Kgs and the females only around 5 Kgs.

​On Thursday, the team was up to 5 with Jan and Elaine joining us. Elaine did the blood slides while we did the rounds. There were no penguins at home, but the sun was shining, and the sea was roaring. The Spotted Shags are very busy nest building.

​On Friday, fortune smiled upon us, and some wonderful people delivered some animal carry boxes to us to use for the penguins. As well as that, one of our major sponsors, Ikaha NZ advised us of another donation. 

Hiltrun, Trii and Elaine came out yesterday and we did more tree work in the Moeraki colony. Slowly the reserves are getting prepared for the new season.
Have a great week!
Rosalie