Sunday 26th March 2018

Why we monitor - this penguin needs help

​Hello friends and family
The week began fine and I resolved to repair the ride-on mower. I inflated the tires and tried to start it, but it did not spark – the spark plug that I have here as a spare is too big, so I will try again next week. In the meantime, Ross mowed the drive for me, so the pressure is off!

moulting together can lead to pairing

​I regularly check the beaches which does not mean that I find every penguin that needs help immediately – they must be where I can see them. On Tuesday I released the Snares Crested penguin. The Fiordland is on his own but eating well and will be able to go as soon as he puts more weight on.

A giant petrel looking for dead seal pups

​On Wednesday I went to a meeting with the local operations manager for DOC and came away feeling that we are making progress towards meaningful protection for the penguins that live here. The weather was bad – 35 mm of rain, but it was worse on the west coast, so the tourists kept coming.
Jan joined me for the rounds on Thursday morning and we came across a dying penguin. It was Mr 33 who died just after I carried him up the hill. Some kind tourists took him to Dunedin for autopsy. Some more of our breeding birds came home – they may as well as the seas were raging. 

Swallows having a break

​Friday was a fine day and got quite warm for a while. I was able to get the mats and sacks clean which is a very smelly job but the sunshine works wonders and now they are all stacked away, ready for the next use.

Breeders at home to moult

On Saturday, I took Chris and Hiltrun in the truck to the Moeraki colony. There were sheep in the paddock and they had pooped on the track. The tread on the truck filled up and we had no traction. After some scary moments we were able to get there and back again. Hiltrun has done the tally – we have had 41 YEPs in care this season and 9 other kinds of penguin, giving a total number of 50 with a release rate of 90%.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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