,Hello friends and family
I arrived home at 8 last night after an amazing trip. Jan and I went to San Diego to see Emperor penguins. This was intended as a bit of a busman’s holiday but turned out to be incredible. We started out by spending a night in Auckland to make our international connection stress-free in winter conditions, and we were able to do so at less cost than flying from Dunedin in the morning. This gave us the chance to visit Kelly Tarlton’s penguins. We saw Kings and Gentoos, thanks to the awesome people who work there, and shared the issues around our work.

​On the Wednesday night we flew to Los Angeles and it took us 4 hours from getting off the plane to Union Station where we caught the train to San Diego. We arrived there after 10 pm and crashed! The next day we met Uber. Using Uber cost the same for 2 people as using public transport and took much less time. I would highly recommend it. We took Uber to the San Diego Zoo, ranked as number one in the world and to our delight, found a colony of African Penguins there. It is a new colony, only 2 years old and with the penguins just moulted, they looked magnificent. The motto for the zoo is “no more extinctions”.

​The next day we went downtown and toured the Midway – a retired aircraft carrier. By now summer had kicked in and we were wearing shorts and tee shirts and coming home to the pool and spa. The next day we Ubered to Sea World which was just amazing. It exceeded my every expectation. They have 430 penguins of 8 different species. I have now seen every different kind of penguin although only one of the three Rock Hopper species. All the wildlife there looked amazing and the whole place was mind-blowing.

After visiting an artist friend of Jan’s, the next day, we went back to Sea-world because we could. The day after, we returned to meet up with more staff, including the wild-life rescue team and the vets. What a fabulous skilled, dedicated team they are, willing to share and advise. We used our last day to go back to the zoo and meet their specialist staff. Then it was back to LA, do the Hollywood tour and then home for me and off to Alaska for Jan.

Now I will catch up on stuff I missed while away.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
The two juveniles quickly settled into the Hugo wing and by Monday they were preening each other but pecky at mealtimes. I went to Yoga on Monday morning and wore warm clothes which made it a lot more pleasant.

​Robbie and I did the rounds on Tuesday morning and then went to Jan’s to see if we could help with the big clean up of her section. She had it all in hand and it is looking great. I blobbed on Wednesday and Robbie came on Thursday. After the rounds, he installed the new money box and we returned the concrete mixer to Hampden. While I was there, I collected some kelp from the beach for the asparagus in the garden. I have been talking about doing this for 17 years, so it was not a rushed activity!

​Yesterday was the annual Yellow-eyed penguin symposium. We all went and Hiltrun, Elaine and I presented, along with Bruce Russell from Otago University who spoke about Malaria as our guest. He was awesome!
In the morning the Minister of Conservation spoke and promised more money for rehabilitation. I did talk to her and suggest that any money was needed up front as promises don’t pay the bills.

​In the afternoon we were presented with glossy draft penguin saving brochures which are objects of beauty but what will they add to penguin conservation? We now have 6 weeks to comment on them – you will find the document here https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/penguins/yellow-eyed-penguin-hoiho/a-strategy-to-support-the-health-of-hoiho.
Please comment and ask for action – we already have enough rhetoric to float yet another cruise ship on! At the end of the conference we sat and watched the governance group (all paid) give themselves gifts.
(I am left speechless!)

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
This time the week began with wet weather and so I shifted out to the garage and made 3 rectangular penguin boxes. When I get the correct ply, I will make some triangular ones. These nest boxes will spend the coming season in the aviary as rehab accommodation and then they will be relocated out into the Moeraki colony to house nests. I have poor to middling building skills but am very enthusiastic!

​Hendrick visited on Tuesday. He is a new seabird technical advisor based in the Dunedin DOC office and brings a new perspective to our battle to save the penguins. What a great day! All that was missing was penguins.

​On Wednesday I did a stint at the Toptip and went to Oamaru on Thursday. With the pantry stocked up again, I can relax for a while. Yesterday I got a call from Fleur – there was a stranded Juvenile YEP on the ramp. It was thin, exhausted and had a fungal throat.

By Lunchtime we had 2! The Hugo wing will be tested.
Have a great week
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
Another interesting week in paradise! Thank you all for your positive support for our re-structuring and forming an incorporated society. We continue to do our best for the penguins.
The week began with more rock cleaning and stapling mesh into place in the enclosures. I hate stapling – it is never blood free, so I just do a bit at a time and use surgical tongs to hold the staples in place while I bang them in.

​On Tuesday, after completing the monitoring rounds, Jan, Robbie and I finished the upgrade of the Hugo wing and now have somewhere safe for any new penguins that come in. We have moved our attention to the hospital. Robbie has re-hung the door as the hinges had rusted out and the pens now have new flooring. The rocks needed to prevent bumble foot are sitting on plastic crating that allows for drainage to keep the floor dry.

​We have added the plastic crating to Robbie’s rehab as well. This will improve drainage. All of this is a response to having to manage feathers during the moult. Pre-Malaria, we would put the penguins back out into the wild to drop feathers and complete the moult, but that is not now an option.

The long-awaited rain has arrived. I did the rounds yesterday before the predicted deluge. We ended up with 15 mm over night which is just great – the drought has broken.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family.
Monday was cold and nasty, so I decided to blob for the day and not do much. It worked well until about 4:30 pm when I got a call about a skinny penguin down the hill. I went down to check it out and it was just fine. I decided to return through the habitat and saw a few penguins, some in different boxes from last season, so I await the new season with even more interest.

​On Tuesday when Jan and I did the rounds we found the southernmost male – Mr 18 in the northern most box – nest 114. Here’s hoping that he has moved!  The task for the day on Tuesday was washing rocks in disinfectant for the enclosures. We have completed the Hugo wing. On Wednesday I picked up some more rocks and began re flooring the hospital.

Thursday was a day for more rock work. We moved on to Robbie’s rehab and have disinfected the rocks in the two back pens. While excluding mosquitoes may reduce Malaria risk, we have to reduce the risk of a complete range of infections that penguins are vulnerable to, so good hygiene is a must.
I spent Friday on small jobs and Hiltrun came up for the day yesterday. We did the rounds and there were no penguins to be seen! This is just right for July.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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Hello friends and family
The big dry continues. Hebes are starting to die and Akeake’s are wilting. Jan and I checked the island and there were no little penguins at home. On Wednesday, my turn at the Toptip was very comfortable with 20 degrees recorded. Hamish arrived on Tuesday afternoon and was happy to be able to feed the hospital penguins. The flax is now dug out of the front garden and the big plum tree is pruned.

​Hamish and Robbie worked on Thursday while Jan and I did the rounds. We released 2 penguins and picked up one. She was free for a week but did not leave, so is now back in care with a sore throat.
On Friday Hamish and I went to the Waitaki River mouth which was not much fun as it was bitterly cold. Lunch at Riverstone on the way back was very yummy!

​All was quiet when Hamish and I did the rounds on Saturday morning. We did see the two juveniles that we released on Thursday and both were looking just fine.

I am slowly getting the home jobs done. Yesterday I cleared the front path of overhanging flowers. After 150 years of lighthouse keeping here, most of the weeds are flowers.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
The weather goddess shone on us again this week – clear skies and light breezes. It was, however, chilly, and no more so than at Yoga on Monday morning. The hall refused to warm up and it was a case of either freezing to the spot or attempting the poses with cold muscles. As a result, I was quite sore on Tuesday.

​It made the afternoon escape even more enjoyable as I left home with Jan, Robbie, Michelle and Charlie on the job (I did rescue one penguin first!). Marian and I drove to Dunedin for the funeral of Shona McTavish. She was a doyen of a bygone time and her send-off was a loving dance performed by friends and family. She was not one to value stereotypes so now I have drunk champagne in a Presbyterian church hall!

​On Wednesday I was back off to Dunedin again, this time with Robbie, to talk about mosquito proofing enclosures for penguins. There is an advantage in having dead rat odour in the truck still – no one wants to travel in it! We met with representatives from other penguin groups and hopefully added value to the conversation.

On Thursday while I was analysing blood, Jan and Robbie rescued another penguin. This was another young one with a sore throat. I now have 2 in care. I actually did some cleaning on Friday and Hiltrun came up for the rounds on Saturday. We only got 10 mm of rain in June – lets hope it does not all arrive at once.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
This is becoming a habit! Another quiet start to the week. Sunday and Monday just drifted by and I did a few jobs, but nothing of note. Robbie came out on Tuesday and we did the rounds before he up-graded the aviary for next season. 

​On Wednesday I did a fill-in at the Toptip. It was very cold, but full of cheerful people so quite fun really. In the afternoon I prepared for my Thursday meetings. On Thursday I set off for Dunedin nice and early so I could drive at an easy pace and enjoy the trip. It was beautiful – frosty white paddocks and vivid trees, standing out in greens, reds and golds. Wow!

​The first meeting was with the scientists from the Micro-biology department at Otago University. They are our heroes and committed to supporting our work to save the penguins. The second was with our amazing benefactor who sponsors our mosquito control programme and is willing to bring all his extensive expertise to help us save the penguins.

​On Friday I enjoyed the bellbird song while chopping out the flax that was growing through the heat pump. I also walked the coast because I knew that on Saturday, we were having a meeting in Hampden and I would not be doing it then. We are currently facing a lot of challenges and needed to sort out some issues so we could move on as a team to deal with the new problems going forward.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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