 You can see from the tracks on the beach, most of the penguins are home already Hello friends and family With the season coming to an end, the penguins are on holiday. The team did the rounds, and no penguins were at home. When Murray checked the Bluff birds, there were 3 penguins sat home where there used to be 4. We are confident that there are 2 females and 1 male.  3 penguins perching on the bluff Have a great week!
Rosalie  checking out the real estate Hello friends and family The glorious autumn weather continues. My main task this week has been to tidy up the nest sites.  looking so innocent With seal pups everywhere, they destroy the stockades around the nest boxes and flatten everything in their path. They are unusually active this season, hopefully as a sign of a good diet.  there is always a first bloomer Murray came out on Tuesday and took the pruning saw on the rounds. Low hanging branches were the target, and the paths are now easier to move on.  there is a lot of action on the landing these days The traps have been repaired, and all is well in the reserves.
Have a great week! Rosalie  sunrise is at a respectable hour Hello friends and family The glorious weather continued so I was able to get some outside jobs done. The frosts felt further inland did not arrive here until Wednesday morning.  the Bluffs penguins On Tuesday the team came out, and we picked up Mrs 165 again. She is going swimming but not catching fish. On Wednesday morning I took her down to the Dunedin Wildlife hospital and we are hoping they can find what is wrong and restore her to full health.  lots of activity on the webcam these days While I was down there, I had an interview with Paddy Gower who is highlighting the tragic state of the Hoiho population. It was -1oC in Palmerston and Waikouaiti.  a favored penguin perch The team was out again on Thursday, and we welcomed Sylvia, who wants to help save the Hoiho. The forecasted rain came to nothing, so Robbie and Jan continued with the trap maintenance.  The rocks from the last 2 of 20 pens are ready to go to the Bluffs Yesterday I walked the coast and competed the deep clean of the penguin hospital.  Penguin blessings in Ogden Bay. Have a great week! Rosalie   A penguin at home - a rare sight these days Hello friends and family Lunch at the Tavern was awesome as always and when the breeze came up, it was good to be inside. Robbie came out on Tuesday to continue maintaining the traps and we relocated 2 houses, replacing one that was still standing out of habit. There is one like that down the hill here so we will get on to it too! I went to town on Wednesday morning and did the banking. I resent that the penguins have to pay $5 for the bank teller to count it so I have been putting the trip off.  The first hint of frost for the season Bronwyn attacked the remaining pile of rocks in the penguin hospital.  The headland is empty of tourists - that won't last long In the spirit of task completion, I did my tax return in the afternoon. On Thursday, Robbie and Jan came out and worked on the traps. It was so nice on Friday that I walked the coast. On Saturday I did the first waterblast of the penguin hospital and there is only one session needed to complete the annual deep clean. It will be so much easier with the rocks gone.  The lighthouse still attracts a lot of interest Have a great week! Rosalie   This nest box looks ideal! Hello friends and family The week started with the best weather all year! Sun, no wind and a flat ocean. I spent the days outside, organising the place for winter. The team came out on Tuesday morning. Robbie is refurbishing traps and was able to get them all into action.  Penguins are checking out box 121 I was on the Toptip on Wednesday and had a very quiet morning. In the afternoon, I went down to Dunedin to pick up Mrs. 111 who has been in care. I released her at Tickle Bay. As I arrived, a pod of dolphin swam past. The weather forecast was dire so I wanted a place where I could check that she was Okay. She had gone to sea by Thursday morning.  Even more gulls! Murray came out on Thursday morning and we did the rounds, picking up Mrs.165 who has had 3 days at The nest and is down to 4.4kg. In the afternoon, the drain cleaner man came out and unblocked my kitchen drain. It seems my bargain dishwasher tablets off Temu did not move the fat very far. Lesson learnt!  The Hugo wing is ready for next season. I finally got to the orchard on Friday. The new apple trees were loaded and the apples ripe. They are delicious! I stripped one tree and will go back for the others this week.  Mrs. 165 being entertained when she should be out fishing! Today, Elaine and I are going to the tavern for Mother’s day lunch. Have a great week! Rosalie   Mr. 172 has persuaded a female to visit his nest box Hello friends and family The wet start to the week only produced 10mm of rain, but by Tuesday, it was nice again. Robbie came out in the morning and serviced the automatic traps. Many had run out of lure after 6 months, so it was very timely. In the afternoon, I picked up Jordan, a young Canadian who is doing a thesis on the impact of seasonality on the work we do. She is interviewing many throughout the penguin community so that is great.  Jordan wanted a photo On Wednesday we went to Oamaru as I needed the stitches out of my ear, and took the opportunity to get the flu’ jab at the same time. We checked the reserves on Thursday – penguins at home here but none at Okahau. I took Jordan to the bus at lunchtime. It was lucky that she travelled then because an accident on the road just north of Hampden, closed the road for 7 hours. Both Elaine and Robbie were caught up in the delay. This is the second one in the last few weeks. The weather has turned very nice and I am enjoying working my way through the list of tasks at hand. I finished the deep clean for the Hugo wing on Thursday and have filled all the buckets with rocks to go to the Bluffs. It was a big blow to find Mrs. 87 dead on the beach on Saturday morning. She has been an excellent mum, raising 2 chicks for the last 2 seasons and she was only 6 1/2 years old. The last autopsy showed Mr 171 died of Pasteurella, so I hope that is not the case with her.  Always time for a chat on the way to sea. Have a great week! Rosalie   Mr. 26 is in charge Hello friends and family This week was off to a cold, wet start so we dodged showers until Wednesday when the cold won out, and I stayed inside to prepare the DOC community fund application. I spent the day cold because I think April is far too early for thermals – the weather is re-inventing itself!  Yes, we have snow on the hills On Tuesday we released the last remaining penguin – the juvenile picked up on Moeraki beach, and of course, got in another. It is Mrs. 165 who had a sore eyelid, so she is back with us until that heals.  Our early Kowhai has excelled itself On Wednesday I sat down to begin the process of applying for the DOC community fund. I would much rather clean up penguin poop, but I can’t complain about the lack of DOC financial support if I don’t apply. I have done so for no good outcome since the system started. Sigh!  not happy about the seal pup on the roof of their nestbox Murray and Robbie came out on Thursday morning and we did the rounds. There were a few penguins at home which was great to see. On Friday I got a call about a little penguin on Waianakarua Beach. That got me out of the place and I enjoyed the drive. The penguin was dead, so beyond my skill set.  Somehow, old rotten boxes still have an appeal Yesterday I walked the coast in very pleasant conditions, and the laundry was dry by lunchtime! Have a great week! Rosalie   basking in the sun The week began with nice weather and so Dan and I, set to and made up 100 wire circles to put around small trees as rabbit protection. Most of these will go to the Bluffs to protect Pohutukawa, but the rest will replace plastic tree protectors at Okahau. Two of the penguins in care decided that they had had enough, so we released them.  These penguins are 1 m up and wanting to leave care Jan and Robbie arrived on Tuesday and the main task was to do some maintenance on the traps. We got halfway round Katiki. There are a lot of traps!  The pups have moved into the forest and are looking for mischief On Wednesday I went to a doctor’s appointment in Dunedin for some maintenance and then Dan and I went to the pizza place at St. Clairs for lunch. I dropped Dan off in town and he headed home while I came back to the lighthouse.  Daytime bunnies in our bunny plague Murray and Robbie came out on Thursday and Robbie did more trap maintenance while Murray and I did the rounds. Sadly, we found Mr. 171 dead in front of his nestbox. There was no sign of a cause and when I contacted Megan, 2 other penguins had died that day. Mr. 171 was in his 20th year. We did not have him in care through the moult.  on sunny autumn mornings, Red billed gulls gather on the beach in their hundreds Have a great week, Rosalie  |
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