 3 chicks ready to fledge Hello friends and family The week started with a dire weather forecast that turned into nothing much at all – 15mm of rain and a cold southerly but no high winds. The sea got very rough for a day but then settled down.  This year's pups are now playing in the rock pools Our first 6 chicks fledged and the next 3 are in soft release. The 3 youngest ones will be away next week. On Monday I picked up Mrs 138 on the bank at Okahau. She has moulted through rehab for the previous 3 seasons and will do so again this season. The interesting thing is that she did not lay eggs this past season, so I thought that she was dead – not so!  Mr 165 moults alone. Elaine and Robbie came out on Thursday, and we picked up 2 more females – Mrs 9 and Mrs 40. Both are heading into the moult just over 6kg and that is too light for a healthy moult. Neither of them raised chicks, so there is a feeding problem out there. We released the first moulted juvenile, and the next one will go soon.  it pays to be alert! Sealions can be anywhere. The garden is producing surplus tomatoes, beans and courgettes. I am freezing the beans and tomatoes and giving away the courgettes.  Mr 212 moults behind a boxthorn while his partner is in care Today I will open the door for the 3 chicks in soft release to go and that leaves me with the last 3 chicks to take to the pen next week.  Free at last - our first juvenile to complete the moult. Have a great week! Rosalie   The rescued Snares penguin Hello friends and family These are busy days. On Sunday morning I picked up a juvenile Hoiho and in the evening, Murray and Bronwyn came and rescued the Snares penguin that was at the bottom of a cliff.  Bronwyn to the rescue! On Monday, Thor arrived to place satellite trackers on 4 of our chicks – soon to be fledglings! Murray and Bronwyn helped to take them to Okahau to go in the soft release tent, and one that was under 5.5kg had to be replaced by a bigger one.  Before and after! Our first juvie will be out the door soon. On Wednesday I went to the Doctor in Oamaru to get a boil on my ear checked out. He put me on antibiotics so I have started them.  The adults have the munchies Elaine and Murray came out on Thursday and we took blood samples from the Juvenile (ex Long Point) Stewart found at Shag Point and Mr 2, who was hiding in an odd place.  3 Juvies well into the moult The week ended quietly. The unemployed males are starting to moult. If they are up to weight, we will leave them to it. Have a great week! Rosalie   Before dinner Happy birthday to Jen and Daniel today I had planned to be with you, but penguins got in the way. On Tuesday the full team came out and we uplifted the chicks. In the process we found Mrs Old, underweight and needing help. Bronwyn then got a message from a friend in Waikouaiti, about a penguin at the north end. It was an emaciated moulting Tawaki with dog footprints on the beach within 1m of its hiding place. Bronwyn and Murray rescued it! This left us with 12 new penguins, so Jan came out and gave me a hand with the feeding. With soft fish, half of it was all over us by the time we had finished, but the penguins were much better on Wednesday morning.  Rabbits galore The sun shone on Wednesday, so I went to town and did the messages in the morning and just caught up with myself in the afternoon. On Thursday morning, we checked the colonies and Robbie erected the soft release pen so we can house the tagged fledglings in a way that they are unlikely to remove the tags. All that is left for me to do is dig in the skirt. On Saturday, it was another thin female Hoiho, and another Tawaki. I got a message from Mel in the Auckland Islands that there was a stranded Snares Crested penguin here on the point. I have been out twice so far and not found it.  After dinner Have a great week! Rosalie   Waiting for the moult Hello friends and family The week began with miserable weather, but by Tuesday we were out and about, weighing chicks and checking for stranded penguins. I think most penguins chose to stay out at sea; the waves were huge withy a lot of floating kelp to get tangled in.  Wild water - no beach! Wednesday was my day at the TopTip. It was steady business all day and I took over $150 which is good for a Wednesday. Elaine came and covered for me while I got Mark and I a coffee.  Our 3 adults have got the munchies Murray, Toby and Robbie came out on Thursday, and we thrashed out a plan to make a difference for our penguins. We are going to uplift all the chicks on Tuesday – it will be within a few weeks of them fledging so the parents will just think they have gone and will start to look after themselves. Last time we did a bulk chick uplift, no females died and we held our nest numbers for the next season.  Hiding in the grass Filming the penguins is complete for the “Tiny Planet” film and so I have asked the team to move on to their next project. They are a great bunch of young people who are very focused on their project.  Take only photos - leave only footprints The weather played nice at the end of the week, sunny days and cool nights. I have started potting up the tiny Rata trees. They are very slow growing but will benefit from being in their own pots.  Our youngest chick is 6Kg We are now entering the high-risk period for penguin diseases. It is time to do what we can to reduce the stress on our breeding adults. We will uplift the chicks on Tuesday. Have a great week! Rosalie  |
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