 checking out the neighbours Hello friends and family I hope your day went well yesterday. The week began well with healthy looking chicks. Some are going post-guard, which means both parents are out fishing when we come around in the morning. This is to be expected at this time of the year. There are other penguins at home in the colony and we check them out in case they need a helping hand. Murray joined us on Tuesday and rose to the challenge of putting pills into penguin mouths.  protective parent On Thursday we were reminded why we weigh the chicks weekly. The chicks in nest 167 had not put on any weight. We happened to have some small fish with us and fed them at the nest. Both chicks were very hungry. We left a camera on the nest to see if any parents were coming home over night. We also picked up Mr 51 who had been home for several days and was underweight. Sure enough, he tested positive for Malaria. This is what killed his chick a month ago.  the Pohutukawa is blooming On Friday I checked the camera and only one parent came home and only briefly at that. I brought the chicks into care. When I went to get them, there was a feral cat there, within 3 m of the chicks, being harassed by the gulls. All of those gull chicks have been predated.  abandoned by their mum 2021 has been a difficult year for the penguins here at Katiki Point. We started with 25 nests but 9 have failed and we have 20 live chicks, a fledging ratio of 0.8, not even enough for the penguins to be replacing themselves. At the Moeraki colony we have 26 chicks from 18 nests, a fledging ration of 1.4 which is okay.  Relaxed penguins It has also been a difficult year for the team with 2 members walking away from the penguins because they choose not to be vaccinated against COVID. We are left feeling betrayed and keep blaming ourselves for not seeing it coming. We are determined to stay optimistic.
Have a great week and a Healthy and Happy New Year Rosalie  The southern Rata in Christmas colours. Hello friends and family. Season’s Greetings! I wish you and your family a safe and happy Christmas. After a difficult year I have much to be thankful for. From Endometrial cancer and too many dead chicks, to wonderful support from my family and Penguin Rescue team members, it has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.  Warm, dry babies On Tuesday, Jordana and Jim joined Robbie and I to do the weighing and dosing of the chicks down the hill and a check of the Moeraki Colony. It started out a bit damp but soon cleared to a sunny afternoon – great to get the washing dry.  Yes, I really did it! Zip lining in the canopy Then the rain started. On Thursday, Robbie and I squelched our way around the reserves. With all this rain, the grass is now chest height and full of wet pollen. It was on with the dryer when we got home – 26 stinky pillowcases were not going to be left in my flash new laundry!  home time for busy parents - 10 pm The chicks are all making progress at the moment, some faster than others, but having the nest boxes means they stay dry which is a real plus. The chicks now have nice, thick down but it is not waterproof. Currently they are easy to find, but hard to see. Hiltrun came up and we did the rounds yesterday. It was sunny with a stiff breeze which dried out the grass in no time. Have a great week and a wonderful Christmas Rosalie   first steps out into the big world Hello friends and family Nasty November is well and truly over, and we now have delightful December. This is when the chicks are at their cutest. Each time we do a monitoring round, we seem to save at least one chick. On Tuesday we came to nest 129 and there were 3 chicks there! Two were in the box behind a parent and one was just outside. It had come from the nearest box, still quite a difficult journey and it would not have found its way home. We also found 2 chicks, home alone. Deploying a trail camera revealed that they did indeed still have 2 parents – must have been a communication error!  the chicks are getting bolder by the day On Wednesday Elaine and I went to Dunedin to catch up with the wonderful people working to unravel the mystery of the chick deaths. It was very inspiring to meet with them and hear their ideas on how to progress improvements for the penguins.  Here it is - finished and sparkling On Thursday we almost got speed wobbles. The tasks at hand were to check the traps at Katiki and weigh and treat the chicks at the Moeraki colony. Down the hill we found all the chicks were fine but came across a very sick Juvenile that we brought into care. There was nothing caught in the traps.  shy but cute When we got to the Moeraki colony we found a wandering chick and then ran out of treatment so had to go back, where we found another 2 small chicks home alone. I put a camera on their nest. On Friday I got up early and travelled to Tauranga to help Maria celebrate a special birthday. On Saturday, 10 of us went to Rotorua and did the Canopy zip-line experience. It was great! In the evening we had an excellent party with live music from Paul and Daniel. I had only about 4 goes at Karaoke and stopped before I made a total fool of myself!  My first tomatoes will be ready for Christmas The team cared for the penguins, and I got home last night. Have a great week! Rosalie  growing oh so fast! Hello friends and family We have turned the corner with the chicks. They are now out of that neonatal danger zone and getting cuter by the day. The next step in their lives is to venture outside the nest and we are looking forward to this as the nest boxes smell very bad.  See the tiny new pup in the foreground? We are now getting into the routine of weighing the chicks once a week. We do one reserve on Tuesday and the other on Thursday. On Tuesday it was Robbie and I, but on Thursday we were joined by the biodiversity staff from Oamaru. It is great talking to them about ways we can work together to make the Waitaki a better place to live for humans and other species.  All the Oyster-catcher nests i have spotted this season have 3 eggs My other task this week has been to prick out the tiny cabbage trees. I am transferring them from a tray where they sprouted to individual tiny pots to grow on for a few months. I have hundreds of them so am doing about 30 a day to get through the task.  The fish prep area is nearly finished. On Friday we were advised that the big chick that died last week was from Malaria. Having a known cause is better than not. We will make a plan.
Have a great week! Rosalie. |
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