Sunday 22 December 2019

Home alone for the first time!

​Hello friends and family.
On Sunday and Monday, I got around the bees and added extra boxes where needed and on Tuesday the much-promised rain arrived (15 mm). Robbie and Robyn came and checked out the Moeraki colony while I went down the hill here.

Note the blue tinge above the eye - a sign of cyanosis which can be a symptom of Malaria. Not in this case.

​All the chicks were in their boxes except one that was in a dry spot under the trees. We did not weigh them as they would have got wet. In the evening I went to the Mayor’s Christmas function and was thrilled to see Hugh there. He has now retired from the Council and lives in Christchurch. I also caught up with Hamish who has been promoted to environmental reporter for the ODT in Dunedin – well deserved.

Our tiny chicks from last week have a parent at home

​ I must have been feeling in a good mood because I actually talked to some of the Councillors about the plight of the penguins. Every request I make is interpreted as a request for money. It takes about 5 times to get the message through that the issue is protecting penguins from uncontrolled tourists, not funding our work. Then they pass the buck with such finesse that I can tell that they have a real skill at it. The problem, they say, is national, and belongs to DOC, it is even international and why don’t I apply to WWF for money? I reply that the penguins live here.
ON my way home at 8:30 pm I passed the last car leaving the car park. 

The southern Rata in celebratory glory

Robbie and Jules made up the team on Thursday and we caught up by weighing every chick except one that we could not find! On the whole they are making great progress – only two are causing concern and I will check them daily for the next little while. Some of them are now over 3 Kg, and right on schedule, I found chicks in both colonies home alone. This is called post-guard and is the next step in their young lives.
Have a wonderful festive season
Rosalie
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