​Hello friends and family
Sunday and Monday were inside days as the wind blew from the south. Planting was put on hold as the plants would have shrivelled before I could get protectors on them.
Tuesday was a break from the wind – just gusty but okay to be out and about! Imagine our delight in finding a fledgling YEP that had returned to Okahau point – only 3.6 kgs but alive and home to be helped. He started life on Green Island and came here as an egg. We uplifted him at 70 days old to relieve his first-time parents who both needed help later on. He tested positive for Malaria so is now being treated. 

​Daniel arrived from Christchurch in the early afternoon and settled in – sorting out my IT problems in only minutes! Wednesday was our turn at the Toptip in the morning and in the afternoon, we went to the Bluffs to free up another ancient Kowhai from vines and make a Kingfisher nest. Afterwards we heard of Kingfishers eating fantails, so we won’t be building them any more nests!

​After the rounds on Thursday morning, we got stuck in and planted 51 trees in Ogden Bay. It was very pleasant without the wind and great to be able to get the job done.

We did more planting on Friday then went to the tavern for dinner. Yum.
More planting again yesterday and then off to Elaine’s for dinner – more yum!

Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
I spent the first half of the week planting trees into dry ground – I was very pleased when it rained on Wednesday – proper rain – 28 mm all up, so the risk paid off. 

​Winter has arrived and I am now wearing thermals. What a fuss to manage comfort across such a range of activities. At least if I get cold there are always rocks to toss!

​I have spent the indoor time crunching the rehab numbers for the season. The impression that we helped every breeder was wrong, the true proportion was 80%. Some penguins moulted before the marine heat wave affected their food supply and they are probably okay. 

​We have begun the new season. It is time to add up our activities and the effort that goes into them. The increase in effort during the last season puts us at around 4 FTEs. For most of us, our time is a mix of solitary work and team effort. Both are essential to progress the amazing projects that we have in place.

This week we have another 50 trees to plant and Dan will be here to add extra hands.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
It has been a quiet week. I hurried to pot up plants to benefit from the forecasted rain, but it never came – well, we got 6mm over 7 days which was just annoying!

​Murray and Robbie came out on Tuesday and then they went to the Bluffs, and I planted 8 cabbage trees in Ogden Bay. The trees were joined by another 9 on Wednesday. 

​We did the rounds on Thursday, and I spent the rest of the week sorting out equipment for planting. One of the challenges of reusing gear is that it needs transporting from the old site to the new one. At least with the ground rock hard I can drive over the paddocks and deliver stuff.

​Hello friends and family,
So, on Sunday morning I let the penguin go. I am more than happy to carry stuff down the hill, but much less keen to carry stuff back up the hill. After a lot of thought, I decided to drive down the hill to plant 6 trees. That saved me carrying the Warratah banger back up the hill. I was very pleased with my efforts and the trees were in the ground in time for the promised rain which never arrived. We have had no rain so far this month.

​On Tuesday the team were joined by Trudi from the Yellow-eyed penguin trust, so we took the opportunity to go to the bluffs and show her around. While we were there, we extracted some redundant wire netting that can now be used for tree protection from rabbits.

​Wednesday was town day, and I hadn’t been there for 3 weeks. On the way home I collected a dead rock pigeon to test its blood for Malaria. It looked clear. The next step would be to get a PCR done. In the afternoon the penguins started coming home at 2:30pm and having a singing contest. It is always a good sign when they are coming home early as it indicates that the fishing is good.

​On Thursday all the penguins were out fishing. We went to the Bluffs to harvest Kowhai seedlings that had sprouted under early flowering trees. We were a bit late and only found a dozen – either rabbits or possums had beaten us to them. It was our first cold day – on with the thermals for comfort!

On Friday morning I got a text from Megan to say there was a dead whale on Moeraki beach. It took me about half an hour to find them and the whale was a baby Minke. It was beautiful, a perfectly formed creature from another world. We waited in the bitter cold for a while then came home for a coffee. I was very taken by the whale so phoned Robbie in case he also wanted to see it. He met us back down the beach. The DOC team arrived, and they measured the whale. Emma explained the features that revealed its age. It was 2.2m long. They then took samples for DNA testing, and we dragged it up into the sand dunes where Robbie and Jason had dug a grave for it. One day it may be dug up for its bones.
Hiltrun came up yesterday and we worked it out – she has been coming up every available week for 10 years! What dedication to our beautiful penguins.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family.
I prepared for the promised rain – planted out and potted up – it never came! The cold did arrive, and we have had the best frosts for a couple of years. Six of us did the rounds on Tuesday morning so we split into 2 teams and did a reserve each. The penguins were all out fishing. After a cuppa, some of us planted more flaxes and the others went to the island and repaired the little penguin boxes that had been damaged by the seals. 

​Wednesday was my day at the TopTip and I was very pleased to have my hot water bottle for the first hour before the sun warmed the place up. It was busy all morning, people dumping rubbish and buying pre-loved treasures. 

​We had a change of routine on Thursday. Jan did the rounds here and Robbie and I went to the sealion beach to help with a rare-plant protection project managed by DOC. Both of us took our electric pruners and could cut through the lupins in no time at all. It was a stunning day and very enjoyable.

​After morning coffee with Elaine on Friday, I went to Shag point to do the trap round with Jan. Much of the path is on clay and very slippery through the winter. I did indeed manage to fall over – on my back – into a gorse bush. There was nothing to hold for leverage to get up again that wasn’t prickly, but thank goodness, Jan was able to pull me out! The eggs in my backpack were not broken, but I spent the rest of the day pulling thorns out of my clothing.

Hiltrun came up yesterday and delivered our penguin from the Dunedin Wildlife hospital. In the evening, I went to dinner at the tavern with Elaine.
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family.
The autumn weather continues to be kind to us here in North Otago and I have yet to unpack the thermals. On Tuesday we released the last 5 penguins from care as they were down to a few feathers left to moult, and they can drop them in the colony, rather than here. I have had continuous penguins since before Christmas, which makes for a long rehab season. We have one penguin at the Dunedin Wildlife hospital that will be back here soon, so all is not done. The season ends at the end of this month.

​Megan, Jason, and baby Taylor called in on their way home from holiday. What a treat – talking penguins to others who speak the same language! They are moving to Penguin Place so that is great news. Taylor is a contented baby and even joined in the conversation a couple of times.

​Bronwyn and Tobi joined us on Thursday morning, and we started our winter planting. The penguins are nearly all out fishing most days, so we were quick to spot one on the landing. Sadly, it was dead – an unmarked, moulted adult male, weighing only 3kg. It must have come from somewhere south of here.

​Slowly I am getting the paths pruned with my new, very dangerous toy. It only weighs 1.5kg so is easy to put in the backpack and have it on hand to make trimming easy. Yesterday the sun continued to shine so I went and retrieved some waratahs to use when planting this season. I am expecting to start on my list of indoor jobs today, but it is not raining yet!

​Hello friends and family
I have recovered from COVID and on Tuesday morning had a clear RAT test. Getting back to a normal routine has been made pleasant by nice weather to start the week.
On Tuesday, the big downer was that we found Mrs 168 dead in her nest. Her blood showed a high white blood cell count indicating an infection She has gone off for an autopsy. In the afternoon, we went to Kawariki and removed boxthorn. Even that work was pleasant because of the glorious day.

​On Wednesday morning I went to Oamaru and had some sunspots frozen off my nose, and then I was off to the Sthil shop to buy an electric pruning saw. At last, a saw that can fit in the backpack and be there when I see branches that must go. All the trees are trembling!

​We did the rounds on Thursday morning and repaired the internal fence down here in the reserve. The penguins had found a way through it, so we moved it to stop them getting too close to people.
Hiltrun came up yesterday and I walked the coast.

​Hello friends and family,
We all know what they say about the best laid plans – I never got to the WReNNZ conference in Auckland – I got COVID instead. I suspect I caught it at the Oamaru penguin symposium and tested positive on the following Tuesday. I am surrounded by caring people so by Wednesday I had started the antivirals and by Friday was feeling much better. 

​Hiltrun came up on Saturday and rescued Flipper bird, leaving only one breeding female missing from the Moeraki colony. She also brought up our young penguin from the Dunedin Wildlife hospital. We are very grateful for their fine care of our penguins that need extra help. We are also very grateful for all our sponsorship, and it was a buzz to get support from Geistlich Pharma, Australia, as it was unexpected.

​I was out of isolation by Tuesday, so Jan, Murray and Bronwyn joined me for the rounds. We had rain so it was a wet adventure but all quiet on the penguin front. Jan and I did a repeat on Thursday. Friday was the end of season meeting at DOC in Dunedin. Jan and I went down and kept to the script which is always a good thing. After the meeting we went to the organic shop for lunch and then did the errands and I was home by 3pm.

​Yesterday Hiltrun came up and we did the rounds – no needy penguins, but Murray found one at the Bluffs which is now in the Dunedin Wildlife hospital with an eye injury. We released Mrs 121 so are now down to 7 Hoiho in care plus one little penguin.