​Hello friends and family
And then it was March! The weather has warmed up at last. Harvest in the garden continues. I have stayed off the bike this week – resting the butt and walking a bit more. Paul, Jen and Olivia took a few days for a southern adventure and then came back on Wednesday.

​Paul took me to Dunedin hospital on Thursday morning for a bit of maintenance and Robbie and Lindsey did the rounds. They saw 73 beautiful, moulting penguins in the colony and all the chicks had gone. On Friday, the family and I went for a bush walk at Trotters gorge. It was so peaceful, and the only sound was the calls of fantails and bellbirds.

​Elaine and Hiltrun came out on Saturday and we picked up a skinny moulter. We are ticking off the breeding pairs as they come back into moult. We can guess who they are by their location so there is no need to get close to them. There are only 6 penguins in care and the Royal will go on Tuesday so it is a very quiet season so far!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Harvest season has begun, and we have an abundance of pears, beans, mulberries, tomatoes, capsicums and courgettes. On Monday I harvested and froze broad beans and runner beans. On Tuesday Robbie and Patrick worked in the reserve and Lindsey and I did the rounds. There seemed to be a lot of penguins around, so on Thursday, Lindsey counted – there were 52 adults at home. All but the last 2 chicks in the wild have fledged, we have 3 chicks in soft release and 4 in care. 

​On Wednesday I joined the family, and we rode from Duntroon to Oamaru – 57 Kms of glorious North Otago countryside. I was very pleased with myself, but exhausted! The family returned to the lighthouse on Thursday afternoon and on Friday they rode the Hampden forest track, then we went to the tavern for tea. 

​On Saturday it was time for the family to move on and Deleece and Elaine did the rounds with me. All was quiet in the reserves with no apparent problems. I spent the afternoon relaxing, washing and watering as the big dry continues.

​We picked up another wounded penguin on Thursday. It is Mrs 47 who had a puncture wound to the abdomen, with matching cuts to her back. She is responding well to treatment.

​Hello friends and family,
We have our first Crested penguin in care – I am not sure yet what it is, it has been pecked on the head by gulls so is now here, safe from predation and making good progress. We have also relocated several moulting, Yellow-eyed penguins. 

​The first batch of chicks in soft release have gone – they went on Tuesday, which was a fine day, and the sea was calm. On Tuesday we picked up a penguin with a slashed leg and Robbie drove it straight to the Wildlife hospital in Dunedin. In the afternoon we went to the Bluffs and found 2 of our Juveniles have moved there so we are pleased that they are safe.
This was Dom’s last week with us. He spent it working with Patrick to clean up fallen trees in the reserve. He has had many new experiences while he has been here. Thank you, Dom for all your work. 

​The family arrived on Wednesday evening and they had called in to Genius homes in Timaru to see the new house. One of the extras that I had asked for was a hand basin in the toilet – that was pre-COVID and I think more people will want to see that feature now.

On Friday we went to Riverstone to celebrate my birthday and Pamela, Jen and Olivia visited the castle – they loved it! Yesterday we drove up to lake Pukaki and cycled the north bank which is the start of the Alps 2 ocean bike trail. We rode for 31 Kms and today they are doing the lake Ohau leg that I have done already so I have come home to feed the penguins. The weather was a gift – clear skies, no wind and 30 degrees. I loved it. What will next week bring!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
One week seems to run into another these days. Penguins come and penguins go. More penguins are coming home to moult and at good weights which is wonderful. The one in 4 juveniles that need a helping hand through the moult all have good manners because of being in care last season.
On Sunday we uplifted 2 underweight chicks from Katiki Beach which brings our total to 60 chicks for this season. We also uplifted 2 adults with slashed feet, both were parents, and they are getting a much-needed rest. 

​We released our first penguins that had completed the moult – a Yellow-eyed penguin and a White flippered penguin. On Thursday, 9 chicks went off to the soft release pen. They are well ready, getting stroppy and not being so hungry.
Yesterday we did the bloods from the new chicks and both have high white blood cell counts and Malaria. Treatment has begun.

​Hello friends and family
Summer arrived this week – beautiful days and mild nights. The garden is in full swing and the penguins are getting on with business. On Monday we picked up 40 boxes of fish from NZ King Salmon who are generously sponsoring us again this year. This time it involved a trip to Hampden as we collected it straight off a big, 20 m Big Chill truck. On Tuesday we continued with our 90-day health check for the chicks and for the first time, saw some pre-fledglings on the beach. Robbie and Lindsey erected the soft release tent and by the next day, it had its first occupant.

​On Thursday we took the first hospital chick to soft release. It needed to go on its own as it is very aggressive towards the other chicks. It was a single chick and had Malaria early on and was treated in the field. On Friday I went to town and bought a new dishwasher. I have been without one for months and the problem was the motor controller, and it would cost $250 for the parts alone so after 6 years of trouble with it, I have now purchased a Bosch single one.

​Yesterday when I went to feed the chick, I saw another moulting juvenile and Mrs Flipper bird who should have been out fishing. The chicks on the beach had gone. We have 25 YEPs in care and one White Flippered. Happy days

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The season is rolling on and the juveniles are coming home to moult. We will be checking them carefully to make sure that they are up to weight and moult successfully. On Tuesday 2 chicks had lost 20% of their weight when we gave them their 90-day check and so we brought them in. I was pleased to see both mum and dad at home the next day so at least they are still alive!

​On Thursday we brought in another 3 chicks with weight loss and it seems that they have sore throats that make swallowing painful so have not been eating. The rest of them are doing fine. We also picked up an underweight moulting juvenile and weighed another that was over 8 Kg!

​The weather went from scorching to freezing with gale force winds during the week which made things difficult. Robbie, Dom and I went to the hui on Friday to help progress the implementation of the reserve management plan. 

Yesterday Hiltrun, Elaine and I set out to do the 90-day health checks on the chicks but it was too cold to collect blood easily. We brought home 2 more thin chicks. We will try again on Tuesday
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​On Sunday night we got 27 mm of rain and Monday dawned fine and sunny. By mid-afternoon it was cold and wet. The joys of a southern summer! On Tuesday the team did the rounds. Daniel checked out a sheep app which may well work for us when monitoring the penguins. On Wednesday Daniel went surfing and I walked the coast. There were no struggling penguins. It rained again in the afternoon – currently we are getting four seasons in one day!

​On Thursday we brought in 2 penguin chicks (plus one sibling that was not thriving) that had tested positive for Malaria through a process called PCR and released 3 adults that had recovered from their injuries. We now have several penguin chicks that are over 6 Kg in the colonies, and some that still have parents at home, guarding them. 

​The ocean north of Moeraki is very dirty, but here on the headland it looks just great. In the afternoon, we went to the bluffs and set 4 penguin houses in place. This is to provide shelter for moulting penguins, the first of which we have seen this week. 

Yesterday we began the 90-day health checks. This is where we weigh, measure, and take a blood sample of the chicks for the final time before they fledge. They will leave in about 2 weeks so that gives us time to get the test results back and uplift them if they have Malaria. For most, it is the last time we will handle them until they return as Juveniles. We did 7 chicks and the lightest was 5.9 Kg, the heaviest 6.7 Kg. This has been a great season for the wildlife.
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
This week we have continued monitoring penguins and traps. On Monday while at the point, I saw a pod of about 8 Hector’s dolphins. I have now downloaded the app and reported it. Daniel saw them again on Tuesday in Keepers bay. We found an injured adult penguin on Tuesday who we brought into care. That brought our patients up to 10. 5 chicks, 2 juveniles and 3 adults.

​A swarm of bees arrived and moved into the box beside the aviary – great. Then they started robbing the honey out of the boxes in the garage – not so great – then they decided to move into the garage! Fortunately, I heard them coming and was able to shut the garage doors in time. They settled in a Hebe and I was able to cut the swam out and put them back into the hives by the aviary. We will see who wins in the long run.

​On Wednesday Dom found an injured adult penguin. It has slashes to one foot and is now on antibiotics and progressing well. Our weighing went well on Thursday and all chicks are doing fine. On Friday I picked up 4 Little owls from Oamaru Bird Rescue to give them flying time in the aviary before release. They flew very well, so well that they found a hole in the aviary and all escaped. On Saturday morning I had a porch full of moths to feed them and no owls.

Dan arrived back from his trip to Milford sound and Hiltrun, Trii and Elaine came out yesterday to do the rounds. We are all enjoying seeing the chicks look so well. Long may it continue.
Have a great week
Rosalie
​