 Incubation is a restful time for penguins Jan came out on Sunday to do the rounds, and it was a pleasant walk as the weather was balmy. This week is the likely last when the penguins will lay eggs, so we will settle for those we have and get on with preparing for chick arrival. It seems that DOC will not be helping us financially with transferring the chicks to the Wildlife hospital in November, which means another make-shift operation for us – we are so used to making do that at times it gets ridiculous.  Mrs. 121 has yet to lay. Maybe she will have a year off. The sunny weather showed that we have several nests that will get too hot without a shade attached to the roof, so that will be the next job. The Titi have returned! They are a week late but had to fly over the El Nino in the Pacific. It is great to have them back.  Back in care and expecting fish! We do still have some young penguins that we haven’t seen return to breed, so I was very pleased to see one yesterday, doing the monitoring rounds. I wasn’t so pleased when it wouldn’t stand up and move away, so I caught it – it was only 5kg so quite thin. I had walked to Okahau Point, so put it in the soft release pen and went back in the car to bring it home. I have not yet found its microchip so will check thoroughly when Elaine comes out this afternoon to analyse the blood sample. Have a great week! Rosalie   Waiting and waiting and.... Hello friends and family I had to go to Oamaru on Monday because my denture broke. It had been fixed around a year ago, so I was not happy to be presented with a bill of $120. Such is life!  Full moon - spectacular! The season is ramping up, and the penguins are mostly behaving as expected. The breeding pairs are settling on their eggs, and the single males are beginning to maraud around the colony. This behaviour is dangerous for eggs and small chicks, so we dispersed the dummy eggs on Thursday. This means placing a dummy egg in the nests of the males that failed to find a wife, because for Hoiho, there are nearly 2 males for every female. This season about 5 of last year’s single males found a partner and are now on their own eggs.  A very pregnant NZ sealion is visiting The males usually settle on their dummy eggs and continue to go fishing when they get hungry. There is a concern that they will get too thin, but the survival rate of single males is still well higher than for females. A broken egg or trampled chick has no chance.  The gulls are choosing nest sites Spring has arrived and the garden is wonderful – growing like crazy and smelling very sweet! I have planted tomato and broccoli seeds.  Keeping me company in Oamaru The silly season has begun.  We got a light dusting of snow earlier in the week I escorted the first lot of overstayers out at about 6:30pm on Thursday, and at 7:45pm I was alerted to the next lot by bleating lambs next door as a tourist flew his drone over them, I escorted that lot out of the reserve as well. It seems the international language of today’s youth is to act dumb and say sorry a lot, while you just go ahead and do whatever you like!  I love this Clematis - it is self sown. The rest of the week was windy and fine, just racing by while the grass just keeps growing. Have a great week! Rosalie   Waiting for the wife Hello friends and family The weather has been a roller-coaster this week, and life at the sanctuary has been much the same.  A new dad not sure of his role After taking Maria to the airport on Sunday, I went to the doctor on Monday morning about my ongoing cough. It turns out I have developed asthma, so I am now learning how to use an inhaler. Robbie kindly lent me a spacer, which makes the treatment much more effective.  Incubation has begun The team came out on Tuesday, and we were delighted to discover five new eggs. By Thursday, another six had arrived. Friday was our preseason meeting, when we were reminded of the many DOC requirements that allow us to continue this work. There are plenty of rules to follow—and they now seem to come in layers—but I am glad the penguins still seem to like us!  The gulls are selecting nest sites - no terns or Titi yet With snow and rain forecast for Sunday, I did the rounds on Saturday and found Mrs 76 with a prolapse caused by the effort of trying to lay an egg. I got her to the wildlife hospital as quickly as I could, and I am hopeful that we reached help in time. There was an egg on the way, but thankfully there was no dead tissue. If I remember correctly, last season she laid one normal-sized egg and one tiny one, so she may have had laying difficulties before.  one of the 10% of remaining pups on top of the heap For now, we are keeping everything crossed for Mrs 76 and hoping for good news from the wildlife hospital. Have a great week! Rosalie   check out the blue hue Hello friends and family MPI got back to us on Monday morning to say that the Oyster catcher was clear of Bird Flu.’ Thank goodness! The penguins are stepping up to the spring challenge and on Tuesday, we had 21 active nests down the hill, 2 of which has an egg, 11 at Okahau with 1 egg and 2 at the Bluffs with 1 egg. It was a lovely day, and most of them had gone fishing so the colonies were quiet. The Red-billed Gulls are checking out the island for nest sites.  one proud penguin By Thursday, the number of eggs had risen by 3, and we had 3 more by Friday. On Thursday morning I went to the Dunedin airport to pick up Maria, who has come to stay for a few days. She was straight onto my ongoing cough, and I now have a doctor’s appointment for Monday morning.  So precious We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Tavern, and on Saturday, prepared for the AGM in the afternoon. The guest speaker was Chris Hepburn. He has dived in the new marine reserves and has found giant kelp off the Waitaki river mouth and life in the reserve off the Otago peninsula. He also explained the economic benefits of the new Coastal wellbeing team.  Still waiting All the committee has been re-elected and Will and Jennifer once again, provided an amazing afternoon tea. Have a great week! Rosalie.   Staying home to prepare for their new family Hello friends and family The team came out on Tuesday and we did the rounds. There was 14 occupied nests here, 9 at Okahau and 2 at the Bluffs – very exciting! In the afternoon, a pair of workers came out with an Oyster Catcher that they had found going around in circles on the beach by the Moeraki Boulders.  Spring has sprung! I put it in our isolation box and called MPI. They got back to me about an hour later and it was Janelle, a vet friends from WReNNZ. The next morning, the Oyster Catcher was still alive but still showing nerological symptoms. A vet came around 11am and took it away for testing. I was impressed with MPI’s response as efficient and effective. We await the results.  getting ready! I have spent the week battling the flu. Some drugs help and some don’t. The weather hasd been fine and a strong sou’wester is blowing. This may explain why, when the neighbour’s place caught on fire and the fire brigade came out to put the fire out at 3am on Saturday morning, I slept right through the whole thing  The Clematis has outdone itself Have a great week! Rosalie   A Great conference Hello friends and family It has been a busy two weeks The good news is that Hoiho will be vaccinated. We don’t know when or how but are thrilled that it’s going to happen.  We got our first glimpse of the pelicans on our way into Phillip Island Last Friday, I drove to Christchurch and flew to New Plymouth. I got to catch up with Paul, Olivia and Jen and we all went to Pamela’s 70th birthday along with Dot who I hadn’t seen for a few years. I also caught up with Rachel which was a buzz.  Phillip Island Nuggets are called the Nobbies! Then on Tuesday morning, I flew to Auckland and had a bit of time so took a bus and two trains to Henderson had lunch with Lynn and Michele and then returned to the airport to meet Dan, and in the evening, we flew to Melbourne.  The big city was very shiny! The next morning, we picked up the rental car and went to Philip Island for the penguin conference Penguin conferences are always full on. My experience was made miserable by developing a nasty cold in transit so I saw most of the conference via a video link to the dining room so I didn’t cough in the auditorium and spoil the experience for everybody else. I was well enough to enjoy the dinner and the penguin parade.  rocks on Phillip Island which could have come straight from Sci-Fi Philip Island penguin parade is a special experience, and I highly recommend it to everyone. There is such an abundance of penguins there that it’s magical.  the pink penguin After the conference, Dan and I made our way back to Melbourne and waited for our delayed flight back to Auckland. He dropped me at the airport in the morning, and I flew south and had lunch with Pauline. By the time I arrived home, it had rained all the way and it was 5pm. Have a great week! Rosalie   Mr. 26 has got the season underway Hello friends and family Slowly spring is arriving and at last, some penguins are staying home to build their nests. We are ever mindful of the impending El Nino event, so planting out tiny trees is not useful right now. Instead, I am doing sewing and craft which I enjoy.  Nothing like a little protest action Vetpost are giving away a car. If you use the link below to enter the draw, Penguin Rescue will get a credit on our next purchase. https://vetpost.co.nz/giveaway/penguin-rescue  Noel is home to build his nest I have continued using the trail camera on the Hide landing and have gained a lot of terrible pictures – the main concern revealed is a cat walking past.  time to go fishing Paddy Gower did a feature on Hoiho on Tuesday night. It brought to light the terrible plight of the penguins and how the authorities keep them invisible by not designation the correct endangerment status to them. In this way they do not attract the resources that are needed. You can stream the entire show on demand for free via the ThreeNow Paddy Gower Has Issues Page.  A penguin in box 22 - who is it? DOC did allocate over $1m to Hoiho recovery work in the Community fund allocation - $500,000 + to the Dunedin Wildlife hospital and $500,000 to the other rehab facility at the OPERA. This is great news – our application, of course was once again rejected.  Not the first one home today! Penguin Rescue is now set up for the roll-out of the H5N1 vaccine – we have the gear to implement full biosecurity for 12 penguins at a time, daily, for as long as necessary. Now we wait. In the meantime, another case has been confirmed in New Zealand and birds in Australia are dying – terns in their thousands and Little penguins in groups. Next week I am off to the International Penguin Conference and am looking forward to catching up with friends and relations while I am on the move! Have a great week! Rosalie   The Kowhai in bloom Hello friends and family Each year, the seasons are generally predictable, but there is always variation in how they unfold for different species. So far, we have had only one week of winter, and spring is just a couple of weeks away. The kōwhai trees are flowering early, while the penguins are late to start nest building.  eager shags The Spotted shags have their nests now, but the ground is too slippery to get close for a good photo. The highlight of the week was spotting 2 juvies on the trail camera. It’s a good sign when they come back in August.  The 2 juvies are side by side August is the month when subs are due. The membership for penguin rescue remains at $20 to keep it affordable but we are all very grateful for those of you who top it up to $50 because you care about the penguins. Paying is easy. Set up Katiki Point Penguin Refuge Trust as someone to pay. Penguin Rescue does work but is not a match for the account holder. The bank account is Kiwi Bank 38-9016-0481348-01. The AGM is all set up Saturday 19th September, at the Moeraki Hall at 3 pm.  The carpark is full, even on a weekday morning in winter I did an interview with Paddy Gower as part of a Hoiho story. It is due to screen on Tuesday night at 7:30pm on TV3. Have a great week! Rosalie  |
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