Sunday 31st March 2019

Election year!

​Hello friends and family
Another busy month has gone by and penguins keep arriving and leaving. We picked up 4 on Tuesday. 2 chicks have returned, and 2 moulted females are too thin to thrive. The big weather event passed us by – we only got 1 mm of rain, just enough to be slippery but not enough to keep the plants growing. It was warm for the first half of the week so the cooler day on Wednesday was a bit of a relief.

Yes, seals do climb trees

​On Thursday we released 8 penguins and brought in 4 skinny ones, including a White Flippered pre-moulter who has been swimming in the bay for about a week. We weighed another 3 that were 7 Kg going into the moult which is Okay. All of this is taking most of our day, and the weeds are making the most of the temporary reprieve!

The island provides a safe roost for so many birds

​I have been buying some clothes on the internet and am challenged with size. Even measuring includes a few assumptions like – pockets in the trousers! I will probably never learn and who cares how much leg is tucked into your gumboots!

Moulting in the field - a lucky penguin

​Hiltrun came up on Friday night and on Saturday, after the rounds, we did a bit of an audit – we have seen most of our breeders in the last month, so we are very happy and relieved about that.
 

The Terns always face in the same direction

The terns are such a pleasure to see!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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