Sunday 11th February 2024

chicks creching in the reserve

​Hello friends and family.
Once again, the weather gods smiled on us at the start of the week, and then left us to a very mixed bag! Tuesday was the first big day. We had 25 chicks to catch and weigh, were a man down and had to bring 3 of them into care for Malaria. We did very well, managing creches of up to 6 chicks who are averaging 6kgs and have hardened beaks. The first chick had fledged on Tuesday.

The erect crested penguin

​We picked up our first Crested penguin on Sunday. It was found by a dog – no human would have seen it. It is an Erect Crested penguin, starving in the moult, and settled it quickly. It is not well, hiding in the dark and not feeding from the hand.

A pied shag. We are seeing these more often with no Spotted shags here

​Wednesday was Toptip day and Dave came along for the experience. It was a slow but steady morning, and the afternoon was grey. On Thursday, the first 4 of the chicks went to soft release. Robbie and Murray took them down, along with two vets from the Wildlife hospital. They get very few chances to see the penguin habitat and it was great to see them. One of our chicks was in their care for over 5 weeks, so it was nice to be able to show them the progress the chick has made.

The first 4 chicks in soft release

On Friday I had an appointment in Dunedin at 9:15am so it was an early start. I fed 29 penguins in 17 minutes! It was another grey day, but we took the scenic route home anyway. It has not really warmed up much since!
Have a great week!
Rosalie