Sunday 3rd December 2023

enjoying the morning sun

​Hello friends and family,
It is always a pleasure to get to the end of November and to look forward to the festive season with some degree of control over events. All the surviving chicks bar one, have come back from the Wildlife Hospital and settled into their nests. The parents are doing the grunt work of feeding them each day. They are leaving early and swapping over during the day so both can feed. 

not all of the penguins are chick raising - these two were loafing

​We had a wonderful surprize on Monday when Murray found another nest at the Bluffs. This puts our total to 40. There was a penguin sitting on two infertile eggs. Hidden away inside a gorse bush, it was a pair we had not seen last season. It now has a chick and a number! Our tally is now 40 nests and 62 chicks. 

New nest

​Tuesday was weighing day here at Katiki Point. We weighed 43 chicks and were happy with their weights but not so much with their mums. The mums are scrawny already, some only 4.5kg. this is an early signal that we may need to help with chick raising.

Whistling frogs have returned to the garden

​Our other weighing day is normally Thursday but this week we had to return the rental car. This meant 2 cars going to Dunedin, so we seized the day, and all went down for our end of November celebration. We visited the OPERA (Otago peninsula environmental restoration alliance) The weather was great and the visit worthwhile. After that we went out to lunch and then home.

the gulls are now laying

​This meant weigh day was Friday. Elaine, Jan, and I were joined by Amy from Sea World Kelly Tarltons who are our sponsors. The chicks were fine but once again, thin mums. Mrs 130 was only 4.2kgs. I
phoned United Fisheries – no sardines in stock! 

first seal pup of the new season seen on 2 December 2023

​Yesterday my monitoring round revealed an injured chick in front of a nest box. It looked like a predator had dragged it out. It was very stressed and could not stand so it was another trip to the wildlife hospital.

First adventures

Never a dull moment.
Have a great week!
Rosalie