​Hello friends and family
Sunday is my shopping day under lockdown, so I headed out to Hampden to the 4 Square. The free rubbish drop-off is over, there was no need to go to the tip, so I went to the orchard instead, harvested some apples and pears and then came home. The autumn colours are now abundant in both Moeraki and Hampden, with the pick of them all being the trees at the Wheeler’s place!

​The weather forecast has been dour, so I have been doing reserve jobs in the morning and then yard jobs in the afternoon – mostly, that is – unless gravity wins, and I blob out in the afternoon! That was the story for Monday and Tuesday! On Wednesday I deep cleaned the Aviary – 2 hours of water blasting so I recon I have balanced the books!

​The team came on Thursday and we cleared the rocks from the hospital pens. This meant I could waterblast it on Friday morning. The next step to clean it is to let it dry completely before swilling it out with Vircon, a very effective sterilizing agent. We opened the hatch for foot bird to go on Thursday and he left, which left me with only 3 Little penguins in care. 

​By yesterday, 2 of the Little penguins were ready to leave, and a stranded Spotted shag arrived so it is very quiet here in the hospital. We have been spending time going over the numbers from this season to determine where improvements can be made for next year.

In the meantime, I look forward to a week of throwing rocks!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
We enjoyed a quiet start to the week. The team gathered on Tuesday morning – the first day of level 3 lock down and acknowledged that we had all handled level 4 well and felt confidence that New Zealand was on the right track. We all have family affected economically so understand that the need to get mobile again is urgent.

​On Thursday we took the last 2 YEPs in care to the Moeraki colony. One was released and the other is in soft release until his foot is a bit better. His health could easily go backwards if I kept him here on his own. In soft release he can see the ocean and the wild penguins as they come and go fishing.

​ I heard from my house builders – 22 July is the expected delivery date, so I had better get started clearing the gorse! I will have to wait until level 2 to go there as it is not essential travel. The free rubbish disposal at the tip was too good to last long but I did get rid of 6 bags of rubbish. I will still do my weekly shop on a Sunday anyway.

On Saturday I got 3 Little Penguins that need rehabilitation. I think they will only need a week or so to fatten up and then they will be on their way. The autumn weather has been amazing. I have even got down to shorts and a tee shirt on some days. Today is a jacket and gloves day so far!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
On Sunday, Walter and George came down from central Otago to harvest the honey. It was a month later than usual and the top boxes were empty. This tells me that this season the bees stopped storing honey by the end of January. Every season is different and there is a lot of local variation too.

​We have set an audacious goal for the winter – to plant 500 trees at the Moeraki colony. This will include protecting them from wind, rabbits and sheep which is where the effort must go in to ensure they survive. Now I will plan the logistics, making sure that we do the complete job all at once, rather than having to go back to finish it off.

​On Thursday, Patrick joined the team and trapping was the main business of the day. He brought me out a ‘care pack’ provided by the Moeraki Whanau for local residents to help with the lock-down. It had toilet paper, cleaning materials, gloves, and soap. Thanks heaps – what a great initiative to lift people’s spirits.

​I went down the point on Friday morning to check on a couple of little penguins that are fishing in the bay. They do not look flash – tired feathers. It took a while to sight them. In the meantime, I was visited by seal pups, saw gulls (2spp) shags (3 spp) white fronted terns, a gannet, and the penguins. I realised how seldom I pause in my busy-ness to enjoy nature.

Yesterday, Patrick, Anne and Robbie did the trap rounds and the sun shone. I managed to cut another hedge and shift a few more rocks – all good!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Today marks 18 years that I have been living here at the lighthouse. When I came I expected it to be difficult and it has been, but the actual challenges are not those that I expected. The wildlife here is simply stunning. Each day brings its own rewards and I feel privileged to share this place with such amazing creatures.

​I hope Easter brought you a diversion from the ongoing Covid-19 disaster. I was able to have virtual meetings with the family so that was a bonus. We are all challenged by the need to keep active and I am reminded how lucky I am to have the coast to walk. 

​I had my weekly trip to the supermarket on Sunday so I could go to the tip at the same time. This week my extra rubbish was broken plant protectors. Next week I might dump all the old hoses. On Tuesday the team came, and we checked the traps and released Mrs 139. This leaves me with only 2 penguins in care, so I am not even putting on overalls as they both feed nicely and I do not have to worry about getting covered in fish or poop. It was also time to put the winter duvet on the bed as a cold southerly blast dropped the temperatures below 10 degrees.

​The team is very intrepid and did the rounds on Thursday and Saturday. Things are quiet in the colonies. We have seen a couple of stoats here by the house but have not caught them yet!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
We are moving into the hard yards for self–isolation and it gets stranger by the day. On Sunday we got a call from a lady at the north end of Waianakarua who saw a penguin with an injured foot. I asked Robbie to uplift it and he was so pleased to meet this caring lady and then very concerned when a local told him that the penguin had been there for 4 days. To us this is callous, but to the local it is business as usual. The penguin is currently fighting for its life.

​On Tuesday the team did the monitoring round and it is such a pleasure to see the penguins able to behave as normal. At this time of the year, they can relax and socialize. The beach is criss – crossed with footprints as they gather and disperse as the whim takes them. They play at the waters edge before taking off like bullets into the surf. How cool is that?

​On Thursday, most of the penguins were out fishing and the sight of 4 predated Titi chicks was somewhat balanced by catching 2 more Ferrets. Robbie planted 3 Kakabeak shrubs and found that the ground is still too dry for any big planting efforts. Anne brought us a feed of mushrooms so that was just excellent!

I am slowly making my way through the list of jobs around the place. Doing 5 loads of rocks a day is too much so I will cut it down to 4. Today is my grocery trip and it will be the first time I have left the place for a week. I have been able to catch up with the family on Zoom which is awesome!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Sunday was a glorious day and so I was happy – cutting hedges, sorting penguins and their crap, picking grapes and generally enjoying myself. 

​Monday was wet – a different story. I sorted out my clothes – I have a lot that are perfectly Okay but I will never wear, so they can go to the charity shop, and I have some that are past their use by date and they can go to the landfill. We can drop off 2 bags at the resource recovery park in Hampden a week for free and so I will make the most of this opportunity!

​Jan, Robbie and Anne came out on Tuesday and we did the monitoring rounds. The penguins have certainly noticed the lack of people here and stay on the beach until mid-morning, socializing and preening before heading out to go fishing. We released 2 more penguins so were down to only 9 in care. After tea I went to Oamaru for my groceries – click and collect happens on their timeline so I went off, not really knowing what to expect.

​I was very impressed with Countdown Oamaru. On the way there I got a text to say my order was ready, and an instruction to click a link when I arrived. I was able to walk into the supermarket, around the counter and straight out again with my trolley. It is my plan to shop in Hampden from now on to support local businesses. I noticed on my way to Oamaru that autumn had arrived. One of the great joys of living in the south is having four seasons. The poplars and willows are stunning. 

My Wednesday trip to town to get the ‘flu jab never happened because the surgery had run out of injections, so I expect to go this week. The team were back on Thursday – another quiet day – foggy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon and little wind.  We are trapping a lot of predators and on Friday I renewed the rat poison under the house and the freezer. Another feature of Autumn.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We are all adjusting to life in lockdown. As the penguins are so endangered, we can continue our work – highly modified – that is essential at this time of the season.  Many of the penguins are ending the moult and with the night-time temperatures dropping, the risk of new malaria infections has diminished so I am able to release more penguins from care. We are now looking for late moulters and ones taking more than a month to complete the moult. We continue to trap intensively. We are working in pairs to reduce risk and are meeting outside rather than in the kitchen. Gloves, masks wipes, sanitizers and soap are everywhere! If I can get outside, I can cope just fine.

​The reserve has been closed until further notice. Even yesterday, tourists arrived, expecting to see penguins. They are not following the rules on any level. Both gates are locked and will stay that way as the default. The penguins reclaimed the beach within days of being able to. 

​Yellow-eyed penguins know how to self-isolate and so we can use their position as part of the puzzle of diagnosing disease. Earlier we found Mr and Mrs 211 apart. He was under some tussock at the south end and had Malaria. She had gone through the fence and into the crop paddock, out of sight of any other penguin. She had an infection. Now that they have both recovered, they are back together, at home and relaxing.

I have started my autumn hedge cutting rounds. It will take several weeks to cut them all but hey – I have plenty of time! Currently we have 11 Yellow-eyed penguins in care and 2 little ones.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The penguins keep rolling in. On Tuesday we picked up another 5. They are underweight or behaving strangely so with the risk of Malaria so high, we bring them in so at least they can get tested. The normal ones stay in the wild. On Tuesday the next shipment of salmon from NZ King Salmon arrived and the fish are just the right size for Yellow-eyed penguins so feeding is a breeze. When I try and feed them tiny fish, they look at me as if I am insulting them!

​On Wednesday I took the truck to town to get a puncture fixed. There is surely panic buying in Oamaru and the Supermarket had no flour of any kind. This is annoying as I normally only go to town once a fortnight so my supplies will run low by then!

​On Thursday we brought in 2 more penguins – both were taking 4 weeks and had not finished moulting. Their partners had been and gone and still they lingered! We also got the great news that the Council is going to supply the water for the penguin habitat for free. This is the result of the lobbying by Megan, one of our members, fighting for what is right – well done Meg!

Yesterday Elaine came out and tested the blood of the 7 new penguins in care. 3 had Malaria and 3 have an infection. Interesting blood! Hiltrun came up and released 2 Little penguins and Pablo! We now have 20 Yellow-eyed penguins in care and 5 Little ones. When it was time to go, Hiltrun had a puncture. Thank goodness for the AA – a tow truck came and took Hiltrun and her car home.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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