Sunday 26th November 2023

cuteness overload

​Hello friends and family,
Day by day we are making progress. The chicks are growing and becoming safer. We have had some frights with chicks losing weight and there have been several rushed trips down to the Dunedin Wildlife hospital with tiny scraps of life struggling to breathe. We have naughty chicks and compliant chicks. The always present problem of predators becomes more acute with tiny lives at stake.

one of 4 juvenile penguins seen this month

​By the middle of the week, we had 61 chicks here, including one from Green Island, 5 at DWH, including one from Green Island, and a break from the daily trips down to Dunedin. 

penguin pride

​Daily nest rounds are necessary because Diphtheria is still ever present, as is the risk of choking from fish bones. It does get easier each day as the chicks grow. So far, none of the chicks have died here after returning from the wildlife hospital.

Too big to fit under the adult

​Outside the nests, we have prolific flowering and growth. The flax bush outside my office window, usually good for 5 or 6, has put up 20 flowering stems. The trees are blooming and there is abundance everywhere.

Pohutukawa in Otago in November

Have a great week!
Rosalie