Penguin Rescue Update

Our two youngest chicks are growing up fast

​Hello friends and family
After a quiet start to the week, Mel arrived on Tuesday morning to train Robbie and I in the new microchip insertion procedure. She had 3 others with her, and we chipped the chicks down the hill. It was a well-prepared training session that went smoothly. In the process, we found Mr 26 looking unwell, so Murray brought him up the hill into care.

there are lots of seal pups arriving

​In the evening, our new volunteer, Liam, a young man from Germany arrived, as did Thor. We successfully retrieved the tracker from the adult at Okahau, but by 8pm the Juvenile had not returned so we will catch him on another evening. We went to town on Wednesday morning and caught up with Henry at the Oamaru Blue penguin colony. In the evening we saw the elusive Juvenile, but he raced back out to sea very quickly.

becoming independent and managing those feet

​Thursday was a busy one.
We began at the Bluffs by microchipping the chick there and then came back here to do the 4 at Okahau. By then it was lunchtime. On the way we picked up an underweight juvenile and Elaine analysed its blood – it has an infection.
In the evening, we had our Penguin Rescue Christmas dinner at the Tavern and very enjoyable it was too!
At the same time, we had a severe thunderstorm with hail, so it was too wet to go down the hill to catch the juvenile with the data logger. He waited for us and we picked him up the next morning and retrieved the logger.
On Saturday, Liam and I did some pruning work at Okahau.

A Leopard seal hauled out at Anderson's lagoon

Yesterday we went to Anderson’s lagoon and saw this leopard seal on the beach – he would have been 2m long. In the evening, we had a fabulous dinner with Jo and Jerry.
Have a great week!
Rosalie