​Hello friends and family.
This has been another grey and damp week except we now have chicks! The first chicks hatched on Wednesday 26th and now we have 5 pairs.

​Our hospital penguin has made great progress and is now in the soft release pen. I have continued preparing the garden for spring planting but am waiting for the next cold spell to pass before I plant anything out. The TV weather man produced a chart to show that we have better soil moisture this season than last so that is very positive. I am also waiting for the weather to improve to take the Varroa strips out of the bee hives.

​One activity that loves this cool but not cold weather is the cheese making. Currently my cheeses have great colour and flavour so they are not lasting long in the fridge.

​It is not quiet at the lighthouse - Tom came for a visit on Wednesday and Mel began her science PHD work here on Thursday.

Chris, Hiltrun and Peter arrived on Friday night and after I attended an on-line meeting of WReNNZ in the afternoon, we were joined for the evening on Saturday by Dave. It was a time to celebrate the arrival of our new chicks and I had a wonderful time!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
Happy Labour Weekend!
On Wednesday, Hiltrun and I candled the penguin eggs. We found an overall fertility rate of 96% which is very high. We put this down to having experienced breeders, although both of our young girls here had 2 fertile eggs.

​Labour weekend marks the beginning of the tourist season and this year the penguins have even less protection than before. This time last year I was clearing the reserve of all people after the 7:30pm closing but this season all I can do is take photos of the cars still in the car park after 7:30pm to give those responsible the information about what is going on. This does not include those vehicles that arrive after 7:45 pm.

​People are here from before 7 am to after 9 pm when it is dark, because no-one is enforcing the closing times. People get within 2 m of penguins even though the recommended distance is 10 m. People climb over the fences and chase the penguins. This is the largest colony of Yellow-eyed penguins and I fear for the lives of all chicks hatched on the historic reserve this season.

​The biggest risk time for the chicks is the next month. I will let you know how many survive.

​The south east marine protection forum has released their proposed marine reserves going forward. They have made a small nod to protecting Yellow-eyed penguins by making a reserve in front of some 10% of the remaining nest sites but have done nothing for the 22% that live here. Going forward, it will still be legal to go spear fishing in front of this colony even though I showed them photos of wounded penguins so they could see that the problem is real and penguins get injured.

Given that over 980 penguins, of the remaining 1000 Yellow-eyeds that are left in New Zealand, live in the area being considered, I expected more. I will be making yet another submission and hope that you do too. https://south-eastmarine.org.nz/YourSay/. What are we protecting the ocean for if the iconic endemic species are ignored?
 
The work continues. This weekend we have been planting Astelias (native forest flax) and ferns. It is great to see the forest floor greening up again. The Variable Oyster Catchers and Black Backed gulls have laid their eggs. I have planted my tomato plants and the bees are active on the cherry trees.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
We have had a cold week. I have started growing seeds and seedlings in the front porch because it is too cold in the hothouse. I have cleaned out the hothouse and have started preparing it for the tomatoes and capsicums when it gets a little warmer.

​I finished cutting the eastern garden hedge which is an annual milestone. This gives more sun to the cherries and the pear trees. The Kowhai is in full bloom and the trees are humming with bees as I walk past.

​Wednesday was my day at the Top-Tip shop which is where I catch up with the locals and their news. It is my social life! I talked to Stewart from Shag point who has not seen any YEPs there this season.

 This weekend we went to the Catlins for a team building exercise. We spend so much time task focused that it is necessary to get away from the penguins and share some of natures beauty.

​We went to Nugget point which is always stunning.

The Otago Shags are nesting on one of the Nuggets that used to be home to Gannets.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
As the penguins settle in to incubate their eggs, so I am slowly settling into a routine of working with Chris and Hiltrun in the reserves in the weekend and monitoring the reserves on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

​My monitoring rounds consist of clearing the traps – the most common casualty is rabbits that run into the traps. I then use them to bait other traps. Then I change the SD cards in the trail cameras and make sure that the batteries are still operating. As I walk around I am looking for penguin casts – this is where the penguins spit up bones and other indigestible bits – Chris analyses these as part of his penguin diet study. 

​The main reason for monitoring is to check that the penguins are incubating their eggs, and that there are no injured or starving penguins near the beaches. I also keep an eye out for the other bird species that live here – the Spotted Shags have now laid their first eggs. I keep a record of what is happening and Hiltrun transfers the information to the data base.

​On Tuesday the local DOC coastal manager came to visit the reserve so I took the opportunity to show her what is happening and I felt that the visit was valuable all round.

​On Wednesday we went to the pre-season DOC monitoring meeting and then for dinner afterwards. I took the opportunity to buy some new gumboots from Para Rubber and a replacement electric jug as mine had started leaking.

Somehow it seems that time gallops in spring. The gap between last egg lay and first hatching is usually about 4 weeks and there is much to do.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family.
Well this has been a grey old week. We have not had a lot of rain, but we have had drizzle and a cold wind. All I did on Sunday and Monday was the monitoring rounds. Two more of our breeding females here laid an egg and so there was only a few of the regulars left to go.

​Chris and Hiltrun came up on Tuesday night and on Wednesday we did the monitoring rounds. We found 3 more nests here which brings us to a total of 26. This is 1 up on last season and a miracle. At Okahau point we have 21 nests and all adult penguins have been recorded this month – another miracle. There are still 2 young females here that we have not yet recorded so we are still on the lookout.

​We also welcomed home the Titi which arrived and started clearing out their old burrows – a few bunnies will be getting a hurry up. The Spotted Shags are also checking out nest sites in their full breeding finery.

​Thursday and Friday were a bit warmer and so I planted some Zucchini and Broccoli seeds for the garden. I have started bringing potting mix home ready for the tomatoes at Labour weekend.

​Chris and Hiltrun came up on Friday night and we spent yesterday doing nest rounds and checking out what other birds have started breeding. It was great to see that the Spoonbills are back!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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