 Our Christmas flower - the Southern Rata Hello friends and family Merry Christmas. I hope the festive season brings you health and happiness.  Together for Christmas I have had some wonderful times in 2016 and look forward to more in 2017.  Minding the chicks Summer has finally arrived at Moeraki and I have been around all of my bees so can leave them alone for another 2 weeks.  Meeting the neighbours Summer brings visitors and so it gets busy.  And Merry Christmas from the penguins. Have a great week!
Rosalie  looking fantastic, home alone. Hello friends and family It is time to reflect back on 2016 and determine what progress we have made on behalf of the penguins. I can assure you that we have been working very hard – Chris has been collecting the hours and it is impressive.  The Hoya blooms again We have written reports, attended meetings, advocated for and protected the penguins at every possible opportunity. We have visited and hosted anyone with a speck of interest in Yellow-eyed penguin conservation. We have fundraised, done interviews and made submissions. All of this effort has made no difference to the reality of the Yellow-eyed penguins that live here at the lighthouse.  Mum is keeping a careful watch Two more chicks died this week and so their bodies have been sent to Massey for autopsy as we have no idea why they died. This leaves us with 49 chicks from 47 nests – the worst ever performance at this time of the year ever. Of the 8 eggs laid on the historic reserve, only 3 chicks remain.  Our working girls taking a break Tourists take free reign over the place and go where they like, how they like, when they like, except for where they are blocked by thistles.  Keeping 10m from penguins Yeah right! All of this is balanced by the fact that for the first time in several years, we have a high return of Juveniles – last year’s chicks. They give us a glimmer of hope for the future of the species on the South Island, but not here at the largest colony.  Now listen here kids... Next Sunday is Christmas day and so I will only send out pretty pictures. On New Year’s day I will look forward to 2017.
Have a great week! Rosalie  A Yellow-eyed penguin with blue eyes. Hello friends and family I have had a nice easy week this week. Most of the jobs around the place are too big to complete in one go so I just do a bit each day. I am shifting a pile of wood chips out of the front yard and onto the Cabbage Tree patch. I am weeding the garden and when I get the chance, I drop Round up in the penguin reserves. This has not happened often because it has been either windy or wet. Oamaru had its wettest November since 1928 so we have enjoyed the edge of that.  Happy family On Thursday night, I dropped off the internet. As this has happened before, I did all the usual steps and could not reconnect. Given the sad state of my cell phone network, I figured that I needed a new modem so got Chris and Hiltrun to pick one up for me on their way here on Friday night.  Wild neighbours It was not the problem and so I had to wait until Sunday afternoon for the technician to come and fix the problem. It is very strange to be disconnected for so long.  Enjoying the morning sun We have 2 penguins in care that need fattening up and 2 sets of chicks are now post-guard. We are hoping that these are not signals of a food shortage.
Have a great week Rosalie  The chick is big enough to venture out of the nest bowl. Hello friends and family In theory, this is the first week of summer – in practise, it is cold and dull. The plants in the garden are sulking and the beans won’t even sprout.  mid day, mid week in November Only one wee chick died this week and so hopefully, the diphtheria outbreak is over. I will keep checking every nest every second day but it is a much more pleasant task now. Of our 51 chicks that have survived, 13 did not get infected (25%) and are the only ones that might still be alive without treatment.  Proud parent We had 77 mm of rain in November which counts as wet in these parts! We also had 104 vehicles in the car park after the reserve was closed which is double what we had in October.  And now it is a nursery. December is also the month of lists. Weed control is now the main activity in the reserves. Thistles and stinging nettle can block penguin paths in no time so we are working hard to keep the area clear. We also need to prepare for marking the chicks and making sure the team is ready. I must buy more microchips.  The busy Spotted shags on the rock Nevertheless, there is still some hope that this could be the best season ever.
Have a great week! Rosalie |
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