Sunday 6th December 2020

Our oldest chick is having time out

​Hello friends and family
This week is the start of the next phase of monitoring. The chicks are past the danger of Diphtheria and Pneumonia and now we must keep them safe from mosquitoes and predators.

Gull chicks of all sizes growing fast

​On Tuesday I went to the dentist while the team did the rounds, weighing the chicks down here and checking the ones in the Moeraki colony. All was well. After lunch we put the wind cloth around the water-tank enclosure. We now have new seal pups! They may be small, but they make a lot of noise.

Chick minding made interesting.

​I had my monthly outing to the Toptip on Wednesday morning and in the afternoon, long standing friends from Te Aroha visited for the night. It was great to catch up on news from that chapter of my life – 40 + years ago,

Lindsey challenged by a seal when he returned a gull chick to its nest

​On Thursday we weighed the chicks at the Moeraki colony. Some are now over 3 Kg so we will start micro-chipping next week.

Seal pups

Two of our chicks are not thriving so I have begun supplementary feeding at the nest. One of the off spins of gathering more data is the obligation to use it to make a difference!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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