Sunday 19th September 2021

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

​Hello friends and family
The unsettled spring weather brought us warm / sunny / thunderstorms /cold. The penguins don’t care. What they are after is a home and their definition of such has as much to do with the neighbours as the location. We have had fighting and skiting. 

Spring beauty abounds

​On Tuesday morning, Patrick woke me because he had come out to open the gate and a pair of penguins had decided that the entrance way would be the perfect nesting site. They had chosen a corner and started nest building. We made them leave and blocked their access, so they won’t come back. I am hopeful that they will find another spot and not give up on the idea.

We want a big nest box!

​While doing the rounds at the Moeraki colony, we found an underweight juvenile. It was raised in the area but came from Aramoana. It has a sore throat and needs help. It is in the right place!

Burst white blood cells (dyed pink)

​On Wednesday, Elaine and I slipped away for a mini break, to further tempt fate and it worked! On Thursday we got our first egg of the season. How joyful is that! Seeing each breeding female return gladdens our hearts and the first egg is the beginning of the new season.

Empty car parks on the Wanaka foreshore

​Our holiday was first class. We stayed at Queensberry and walked past Diamond Lake to the Lake Wanaka lookout. On the way home, we caught up with Walter, Therese, and Paul at Clyde. 

Beautiful Lake Wanaka

Yesterday, we found another egg and two more breeding pairs – Happy days!
Have a great week
Rosalie