Sunday 1st April 2018

The female on the right has finally come home to moult - at least 10 days later than her mate

​Hello friends and family                               HAPPY EASTER
This week began with 3 penguins dying so that was very challenging. Elaine took them all chilled, to the DOC office in Dunedin so that they can be autopsied to find cause of death. It is good practice to double bag dead birds and then transport them in a box or chilly bin. I have run out of big bags, boxes and bins this season with so many deaths. I am now washing the plastic bags that the fish come in to use for the next one – let’s hope there are no more.

Will these two bond? We hope so

​Chris stayed over until Wednesday and we were able to plant 15 trees and attack a lot of weeds. Adrian came up and took Chris home which was very kind of him. We have had enough autumn rain to make the ground quite soft for digging so more planting will be on the list.

Moulting alone - maybe waiting for his mate who is still feeding

​The breeding penguins are very slow to come into moult. Many of the males are at home, moulting alone, and one by one the females are returning. There is a lot of calling in the colony as they check with each other to find who is home.

There are seal pups playing in the pond formed in the rocks

​Chris and Hiltrun came up on Friday night and yesterday we released 4 penguins. I am now down to 3 in care so that seems very easy. Some of the penguins that we released were such a pleasure to help with good weight gains and no complications.

Moulting is a social time for the penguins and there is a lot of calling in the colony.

The hospital is now cleaned and disinfected for the next needy penguin.
Have a great week
Rosalie
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