 The 'A' team Hello friends and family, The team is soldiering on, 5 or 6 each day. Two go down to the Wildlife hospital and the rest do the rounds here. On Monday morning, we found 2 dead chicks. Both were recently returned from the wildlife hospital and over 2 weeks old.  the crazy Sealion This week, we have seen a male Sealion kill three female seals on the beach, by crushing them. The Red billed gull chicks are hatching, and the Oystercatchers have settled on their eggs.  Great camouflage! The temperatures have dropped, the wind has come up and the mornings are cold again. This is good for killing mosquitoes and for walking up hills, but I do prefer the sunshine.  One of the few nests with 2 chicks The penguin chicks continue to die. 10 of our chicks will not be able to return to the nest as they are very sick and will not recover quickly. They are in the hospital in the meantime.  The plants are loving life this spring The Pohutukawa trees are blooming early because of the spring rain. Have a great week! Rosalie   our first chick home is growing fast Hello friends and family It had to happen, on Monday we had our first chick death. A pipping egg was predated at the nest of the new parents down the hill here. We put out a trap straight away. Then on Tuesday, a chick was dead in nest K4. This is a pattern that we have seen before – everything is great until it’s not.  still hungry Wednesday was my day for round 4 of surgery to my face. Elaine came down to Dunedin and went shopping while I waited and eventually, at about 3pm, I was ready to come home. No chicks to pick up again on Thursday, so Robbie and I did the rounds while the rest of the team had a day off.  very protective parent On Friday, Tobi and I went down to the Wildlife hospital to take down 2 chicks and while we were on the road, the team found one of the previously returned chicks was gasping. I met Jan halfway and returned it to the Wildlife hospital.  midnight snack By this time, both us and the penguins sitting on dummy eggs were getting stressed by the low number of chicks returning from the hospital. This was put to rights a little, when 9 came back on Saturday. Eight of these chicks will need daily ointment for a while, but it is a relief all round to have them back.  2 fluffy bums Today there is one chick to pick up from the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital and it will go to the Bluffs. We have 2 new volunteers joining the team so it will be a busy day. Have a great week! Rosalie  Chick O2a, our first returned chick. Hello friends and family The focus this week is on carrying the tiny chicks to Dunedin safely. On Monday we took 7 chicks down to Dunedin. By Friday, we had taken down 41 chicks, and the first one came home. On the biggest day, we had 12 go down, which required 3 people to take them.  The warm, damp weather is growing all sorts of fungus Back home, we are doing the rounds daily, to check which chicks are pipping and hatching. The weather has been variable, but we have stayed mostly dry. Now, with chicks coming home, we check that they are staying healthy and are putting on weight.  Keepers bay has eroded right along the front, losing about 1m into the sea Today, Elaine and I are going down to Dunedin with up to 11 chicks and bringing home 2. Katie has her last day with us before heading north. Thank you, Katie, for your help.  The native irises are blooming along the path In the meantime, a possum had moved into the garage and threw stuff that I had forgotten that I had, all over the place! I have planted the spuds, carrots and only have beetroot and beans left to plant. Have a great week! Rosalie  A tiny penguin ready for its first road trip. Hello friends and family Well, the season is now under way. On Tuesday we found our first pipping eggs and on Thursday we took our first chick down to the wildlife hospital to protect it from the Gyrovirus.  Bruno, at DWH, hanging out with a gull, on his first birthday Thursday was the day we picked up the rental car, and last year, as we all had to show our drivers licences, we took the opportunity to have lunch at St. Clair’s. In the reserves we had 2 hatched chicks and several more pipping eggs.  brand new penguin chicks Katie arrived on Sunday to volunteer. She is Scottish, in NZ on a working visa and is helping us out for 2 weeks before she starts a ranger job with DOC. The second lot of precious cargo went down to DWH on Friday, with Robbie and Katie.  New life all around us. The chicks seem to be taking a while to get through the pipping stage. It could be because of the cold temperatures. This morning the sun is shining so we will see what today brings. Have a great week! Rosalie |
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January 2025
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