​Hello friends and family
We have eggs!
I have had a wonderful break from penguin-land. First of all, Elaine and I travelled to Picton and enjoyed the unfolding of spring – it was mostly new lambs and flowering plum trees. We spent the night there and crossed to Wellington the next day to be hosted by Elaine’s son Jay, and his partner Sam. We dined on gourmet burgers which were delicious. The next morning, I caught the bus to New Plymouth. Lunching in Palmerston North on the way was a bit freaky as they clearly had not even heard of Covid so mask wearers were a bit of a novelty!

​Paul picked me up from the bus and the family all went out to dinner to celebrate Pamela’s birthday. The next night we had Dot over for dinner and it was great to see her for the first time in several years – in great form of course and fresh off the bowling green too!

​The next day, Paul, Jen, Olivia, and I headed north to Marokopa and then inland to the waterfall and natural bridge at Te Anga. What a fabulous way to go home. The glow-worms were magical. Spring was unfolding again – this time with lilies, turkeys, goats and Pukekos. Paul, Jen, and Olivia live in Hahei, which is a slice of Kiwi heaven and the gateway to Cathedral cove. The weather was warm and the days full. On the Thursday we went to Whangamata, to catch up with Dick and Esther and on the way home, Jen and I cycled the Pauanui track.

​More of the family arrived to enjoy the weekend at Hahei and on Sunday I came south to Papamoa to stay with Maria, Bryan, and Daniel. On Tuesday, Gavin and I climbed to the summit of Mt Te Aroha which rewarded us with panoramic views. After I had visited Michael and Shirley, we all went out and ate Indian on Wednesday night, which was absolutely delicious, but not that sensible as I had 12 hours of travel to get home on Thursday. Spring had moved on to flowering cherries and the lambs were now frolicking. 

On Friday I checked the nests and on Saturday, Hiltrun did a second round.
We now have 8 eggs and over 50 active nest sites. Some of them are two-year olds joining the breeding population which is always exciting. Watch this space!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family.
I had a holiday at home on Sunday and Monday. The weather was glorious, and I pottered around in the morning, and then went for a long walk in the afternoon. On Tuesday there was a cold wind that made being outside unpleasant so after doing the rounds with Robbie and Patrick, I came indoors and worked on the computer for a while.

​I have decided to get off the fence and wear a mask when I go to public places.
On Wednesday I went to town and bought a new set of kitchen taps. The tap in the laundry was broken, and rather than just get a new one for there, I decided to upgrade the kitchen taps and replace the laundry tap with an old one from the kitchen. When I got home, I phoned the plumber and they were able to come out to do the job that afternoon. Unfortunately, the pipes were corroded, and the plumbers needed to come back to finish the job the next day. I am very happy to have new taps – the others were ancient!

Our Thursday working bee Tasks ranged from removing a dead seal, emptying the chest freezer, to preparing Robbie’s rehab floor for next season. The penguins are changing their behaviour – no longer socializing on their way home from fishing, rather they are landing in ones and twos and heading home straight away.

Hiltrun and Elke came up on Saturday and Elaine joined us as well. They trimmed trees and blocked off cliff tops to make monitoring safer and easier. I have begun constructing the fence to keep the sheep off the new trees. We are ready for the new season. We hope that our Malaria work has turned the tide and our nest numbers increase from the 38 of last season.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The days are getting longer, and we are responding by ticking jobs off the list. Tree planting has slowed down until we can access the south end of the Moeraki colony when the stock have finished their winter grazing and we can drive to the fence. No prizes for doing things the hard way.

​The weather was spring-like, and Kowhai and Clematis are in bud, about to flower at any time. That all changed on Thursday when we all got wet doing the rounds in the morning. The paddock was very slippery, so I was not keen to drive there again in the afternoon.

​Therefore, I took the photographer down the hill here for his magazine article. Cathy and Jon were visiting at the same time, so we were all treated to a display of penguins on the beach, one of which was a juvenile. On Friday I released the 2 girls from the hospital so am now down to one male in care. He is a bit slower to rally, but I will try to not rush him.

Hiltrun came up yesterday and once again we had the chance to watch penguins for a while. We watched one Juvenile chasing another – how amazing is that!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Once again, we started the week with pleasant weather – overcast but no wind and quite mild. The bees were out foraging, and the lawn keeps growing. On Tuesday we had a de-brief from the weekend conference and a big discussion about how we could best help the penguins going forward. Later we ended up picking up both of the penguins released last week and burnt off the old dead boxthorn so we can plant Kanuka in the spot now cleared.

​Wednesday was my Toptip day and it was quiet – no rushing required, and people were generally quite relaxed. In the afternoon I watered the trees. On Thursday we had a short road trip with Patrick to check on watercress and put fresh bait in all the traps. Elaine and I did the bloods of the 3 penguins in care. The 2 that we treated earlier are still clear of Malaria, but the new young female has tested positive – she will get a course of Malarone. 

​Hiltrun and Elke came up yesterday and cleared a large tree that was smothering all its neighbours. I cleared the access to 5 nests at the south end. We watched the penguins coming home and were very pleased to see two juveniles returning with the adults. This brings the total seen so far to 8!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We continue with our regular monitoring on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, helped along by pleasant weather and good company. The penguins are starting to return home in mid-afternoon, so I took a walk down the hill to sit in the sun and counted 17 penguins on the rocks in Hide Bay, including one juvenile. 

​On Thursday we released the 2 penguins in care at Pebble Bay and both had left by Friday morning when I went to check them. I did not get the chance to celebrate as we picked up a new Juvenile penguin that had an infection and fungal throat. It is a wee girl and so very precious!

​Yesterday was the annual Yellow-eyed Penguin symposium so we carpooled and travelled down with Jan. Hiltrun presented our annual report in the morning and in the afternoon, I gave a talk about our journey with Diphtheria.

The new recovery plan for Yellow-eyed penguins has now been approved. The Minister of Conservation was there to officially announce it and it will take some time to unpack its meaning. They have allocated another 2 rangers to care for the penguins, but it seems likely that they will spread them too thinly. Time will tell!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
I have spent the week writing reports and avoiding the icy wind when possible. On Tuesday we welcomed Mel who was visiting from Dunedin to collect more penguin poo samples. She had been held up to contribute to the TV interview around beach closures to protect penguins.

​The wind kept blowing on Thursday, so Elaine and Patrick trimmed some trees in the reserve and Jan and I did the trap round. In the afternoon, Jan and I secured some more trees that had been damaged by the sheep. Let us hope they are now safe!

Hiltrun and Elaine continued with the habitat upgrade at the Moeraki colony yesterday and I watered the trees on the hill. The penguins came home in groups and we counted 35 on the main landing!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Tuesday was one of those great winter days when the sun shone, and the grass was crispy. In the morning we did a nest box check and have a list of improvements to be done before September. In the afternoon we went to the Moeraki colony and planted more trees. We must re-think our management as the sheep have done serious damage to the trees this time.
At around 3 pm the penguins returned, and we watched them play in the water for about ½ hour and then we went home. I happened to glance out over the bay at 4 pm and saw a pod of dolphins also playing in the waves. It is heart-warming to see wildlife well enough fed that they can have time out to play.

​We picked up the Juvenile that did not want to leave and brought it in. On Thursday when we did the bloods, we found a bacterial infection and Malaria again. In the afternoon, I picked up an adult that was in for Malaria last time and may well have it again. 

​On Thursday morning we cleared the landing at Harry’s Bay and 3 of the obstructed nest boxes here. In the afternoon we rabbit proofed the new trees. Yesterday Hiltrun and Elaine created a new nest site at the Moeraki colony, and we watched the penguins come home.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Our focus this week was on a different project as the tree planting site is exposed and there has been a cold wind and the paddock is too soft to drive on. We have tried to relocate some Koura (freshwater crayfish) from hidden forest streams to a new pond that has been recently planted out with native trees. Patrick led the project and showed us how to make traps and what the issues are with catching Koura. So far, we have not caught any!

​The penguins are enjoying their winter holiday and the last one was released from care yesterday. After a course of Malarone, he tested clear for Malaria and was well pleased to be free again. I can unset my morning alarm for 7:30 and sleep in until the sun comes up!

​Yesterday the government announced a rescue fund for rehabbers and zoos. We will put in an application as funding at the gate has declined sharply and one of our sponsors has withdrawn because of Covid 19. DOC records the numbers of visitors so I will ask them for the information over the last 3 months. I don’t know if we exactly fit the criteria – it is hard to fit into boxes when you are working with endangered species.

Hiltrun and Elaine cleared yet another corner at the Moeraki colony yesterday, in glorious sunshine. A pleasant change from the cold wet week that we have had.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​