Sunday 12th February 2023

out on the rocks with the seals

​Hello friends and family
On Sunday I hosted Lynn and her family for the day. What a treat to be in the company of bird rehabbers who understand the crazy scene we are working in. A highlight was seeing the first moulting juvenile of the season at the Moeraki colony. Beach searches are now the priority and on Monday I noticed another change. The chicks are on the move. Chicks from 3 nests were on the beach. This is the first step to fledging.

spoonbills in the Otago harbour

​On Tuesday we weighed the chicks here and they are all doing fine. When we went to the Moeraki colony, we found our first juvenile moulter. It was only 6.2 kgs, from nest 126 and naturally fledged. 

a bad feather day

​Wednesday was the day for opening the soft release pen and the chicks were happy to finally get off to sea. This created a space for the next 2 oldest ones to go there for a week.

ready for the ocean

 ​We did not see any more moulters on Thursday when we weighed the chicks at the Moeraki colony. The temperatures had dropped so working in overalls was not so hot! On Saturday we saw 2 unemployed adults looking very pre-moult but no more needing help just yet!

notice that tummy resting on his feet

I also finished cutting the big hedge so now can move on to the shorter ones.
Have a great week!
Rosalie​