Sunday 10th April 2016

Hello friends and family.
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bringing gifts - even in Autumn!

​I am enjoying the cooler nights of autumn and the slowing down of penguin related activity. This is because the birds are doing well and I have only found one in need of help. The garden needs tidying up and the fruit needs to be picked. Monday and Tuesday were quiet and the sea was calm so I released a couple of penguins from the soft release pens.

Brown bunnies enjoying the sunshine

​Wednesday is town day and I was lucky enough to catch up with Raewyn. She is well and planning a trip to Arrowtown. On Wednesday night I spoke to the local Lions group. They were unaware of the fragile state of the penguins in our area and I wonder how to help people become better informed. 

Is there anymore fish?

​On Thursday I hosted a school visit which was a pleasure as the children were well behaved and prepared with good questions. Chris and Hiltrun arrived on Thursday night and we did the monitoring rounds on Friday. There were quite a few penguins at home for the day, but yesterday they all went fishing!

A young male NZ Sea lion visiting.

​We had a total of 11 mm of rain in March and none so far in April. After Easter it once again took 2 weeks for us to have water at the reserve for the small trees so yesterday that was the main task for me. We are watering new trees, flaxes and tussocks and are planning to plant another 120 as soon as the ground softens with the much awaited rain.

Looking fabulous with new feathers

We now have 3 penguins here and 4 in soft release.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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