Sunday 28th January 2018

Chicks getting adventurous and heading down to the landing

​Hello friends and family
We got some very welcome rain last weekend which gave us a break from watering the small trees. Where we have missed some, they are dying as it is so very dry. On Monday, 3 DOC officers joined us for the last of the 70-day micro-chipping of the chicks. It was great to be able to show them around and explain the work that we do. 

A master of understatement

​Tuesday was my day for catching up with the bees. They are continuing to do Okay and I was pleased to be able to get around them all in one day. Some of the hives are now head height which creates a good workout lifting the new boxes onto the top.

This is a Giant Petrel looking for dead seal pups

​Chris and Adrian came up on Thursday and worked in the reserves. Sue and Judy from the Otago Community Trust visited too. I watered trees for a few hours, hoping to entice a bit of rain, but all we got was about 1 mm on Friday morning. Joris visited on Friday as did the team from MacRaes. Joris reported an injured adult so Chris and I went down and caught it.  It was Mrs 31 with an injured foot – maybe our first Barracouta victim of the season.

Yes penguins like to climb!

Things were not so simple yesterday when we found a dead mum who will be sent off for an autopsy and 6 chicks that are not doing well and have come into care. One of them had lost half a Kg in a week and died. 

The Oyster-catcher chicks are growing.

The garden is a delight and I am harvesting tomatoes, boysenberries, beans, capsicums, carrots and broccoli (not skiting or anything!)
Have a great week
Rosalie
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