​Hello friends and family
Nasty November is over! We have come through it, along with 53 chicks that have survived their first challenge and we can now relax a little, while keeping a close watch on the penguins to ensure that they get the help they need in a timely fashion. Last week was made even more interesting when I developed an abscess on my remaining front tooth. I had it extracted on Wednesday and the dentist stuck it to my partial plate so I could carry on with my busy schedule and not frighten anybody!

​We had prepared for a Hui on Thursday, but it was called off. Will came up anyway, so he did the rounds with us to see first-hand what is involved with treating Diphtheria in the field. This week we  will be finishing the daily visits and start getting back onto the list of jobs that need doing, including monitoring for Mosquitoes.

​Our DOC permit arrived this week and I find that I must renew my micro-chipping permit. I will get on to that quickly as the main opportunity for me to qualify is when we micro-chip the chicks in about a month’s time. The DOC permit seems more relevant this time and will last for 5 years. 

​I have 2 penguins in care and released one during the week. The 2 juveniles had fungal throat and the adult is displaying symptoms of Malaria. His bloods seem clear but he sits in the house with his head in the darkest corner which is not usual. He may have the tissue phase of the disease.

Hiltrun and John are here to remove the data loggers off the tracker penguins. We are very interested to see where they go fishing!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
These are tough times in the colony. Having help every day makes it easier for me, but all the chicks in both colonies have been infected. Some we have not caught in time and they have died.

​On Monday Megan and Jason from Penguin Place came and did the rounds with us. It is such a treat to have other front-line penguin workers come and share knowledge and experience. Michelle and Charlie were my helpers on Tuesday, and they are coming back again today.

​Jan and Robbie helped for the rest of the weekdays and by Thursday we were shell-shocked by dead chicks. We had 3 die from predator wounds. Once a chick is dead, there is nothing to be done for it.  We also picked up our first hospital patient for the season, a juvenile with a fungal throat. It had been in hospital before and remembered how to feed. Hunger overcame pain until the anti-fungals kicked in.

The first seal pup that we have seen for the season arrived on Wednesday in Hide Bay – a first for that spot. It is quieter there now and so the seals can leave the neck and pup in peace.
Hiltrun, Stewart and Elaine helped yesterday, and Elaine prepared our first slide of penguin blood for the season. We also weighed our single chicks so that we might be able to offer foster parents to similar sized orphan penguin chicks if needed.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
This was another roller-coaster week. It began with great promise. Yellow-eyed penguins were voted in as Bird of the year in the Forest and Bird annual competition. This was a great tribute to the vote Hoiho team who ran such a successful campaign. It has had a positive impact for us already!

​New Zealand King Salmon will be sponsoring our hospital fish this season. What a huge relief that is! The penguin of the year certainly deserves the best food when in care.
Then on Tuesday morning we found Diphtheria in chicks in both reserves. Yes, 47 chicks had hatched by then, but 9 were infected. This makes the 5th season in a row that we have had this disease in the colony. We were able to save the abandoned eggs from last week.

​By Thursday we were treating 20 of the 50 chicks that had hatched, but 2 had died. On Friday we found another 4 sick chicks and yesterday we found 16 more infected chicks and one dead one. 

Currently we have 56 chicks with 11 more eggs yet to hatch. These are the hard yards and the team has decided that I should not be doing the rounds alone, so I will have a helper with me every day for at least the next week.
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We have our first chicks! We had chicks in one nest down the hill on Tuesday with 3 nests pipping.

​By Thursday we had 14! The numbers kept climbing and yesterday we had 26 chicks. If only everything stayed sweet for a while – but no – a pair abandoned their eggs within days of hatching. We collected up the eggs and slowly warmed them by giving them to a spare male, but that was only ever going to be a short-term solution.

​A busy week this week – on Wednesday I had my morning at the top tip and on Friday Charlie checked the bees for me. One of my apiaries had been removed so now I am down to 3. All the other bees looked so fabulous – a warm brown colour and full of business!

Spring is still unfolding all its glory here in North Otago!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family.
Crazy weather and late penguins have made for another quiet start to the week.  Getting some rain most days is very unusual here and the plants are loving it. As well as a weather roller coaster this week, it has been an emotional one too.

​During the week we heard about the serious decline of penguin nest numbers in the south. It is heart-breaking to hear that these beautiful creatures are disappearing so fast. Our proportion of the survivors on the mainland is moving from 20% to 25%. Visitors still have uncontrolled access to them here. Please vote for Yellow-eyed penguins in the Bird of the Year competition – prove that we do care about them.

​Then on Friday I got a phone call to say that the authorities have given us permission to continue our penguin work and the permit will be competed next week. It was such a weight lifted off my shoulders. It took them from 15 July to 1st November to get to this point. I will be even happier when it is in my hands!
We have continued candling the eggs and can report that the pattern of very high fertility continues. We will compete that task today. 

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
I love windy days – no mosquitoes! We have had a few windy days lately. Last Sunday morning it was calm, so I tackled the weeds at the Moeraki colony and in the process, passed a nest box that had been empty and there were 2 penguins in it. Always the optimist, I went back the next day and found one penguin with an egg.  On Tuesday we checked the nest, and yes, the egg is real, and the mum is the young female from the south end who was yet to lay. She has abandoned the 3 keen suitors down that end and has laid her egg under the Pohutukawa tree with an older male. 

​On Thursday we were joined by Michelle who is working on fundraising for us. It is an unenviable job that someone has to do, and her efforts are essential and very welcome.

​Hiltrun and Elaine came yesterday, and we began the candling process. We tested the eggs from 11 nests. All but one egg looked fine, so we are hoping for good fertility, in spite of the many divorces and new partnerships in the reserves.

The weather was glorious and the car park full. I wonder if the visitors know of the tragedy unfolding as they walk around.
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The miserable weather continued onto Tuesday. I was spending time indoors but everything in the garden was growing – I had to cut the lawns on Tuesday afternoon – this is becoming a habit! The penguins are now very settled. On Tuesday we checked them for ticks and found none. They are focused on incubation and as they are all in nest boxes, the wet weather does no harm. 

​Wednesday was a hint of summer – glorious. I did spring cleaning with good cheer and in the afternoon, I planted the carrots and beetroot. After the rounds on Thursday, Robbie and I planted another 8 cabbage trees and so slowly but surely, the tree pen here is emptying out. It is still very dry but rain is forecast.

​The rain arrived on Friday night and Saturday was glorious. I did the rounds in the morning and went to the working bee at the top tip in the afternoon. The unusual activity of the week was going to Kaik 2 and photographing the Leopard Seal that was beached there. They are now considered residents of New Zealand – they can’t be living off penguins here – there are not enough of them!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We have our numbers for the new season – 20 nests here at Katiki and 17 at the Moeraki Colony.
Of the 20 females here, 14 were rehabilitated last season and 6 made it independently. This is down 3 nests from last year. One female moved to the Moeraki Colony, one died, and one has gone missing – presumed dead. There were no new recruits here.
At the Moeraki colony, 10 were rehabilitated including 3 new recruits, one yet to lay and 1 who disappeared, presumed dead. 9 made it independently and 3 disappeared, presumed dead. 17 is one down from last year.

​We have finally had some significant spring rain. This meant juggling our penguin work to fit in with the weather. Tuesday and Thursday were busy with monitoring and other jobs on the list. There were 6 of us here on Thursday dodging showers.

​I even went out twice in the evenings this week – once to a show in Hampden and once to dinner in Moeraki. My tomato plants are now in the hothouse as are my seeds for the garden. The lawn is growing so fast, I even scared away a pair of ducks enjoying some spring growth.

A new fence has been built out the front and currently the truck is parked in the carpark as the gateway has wet concrete. Wet day – empty shed – maybe it is time to sort out bee boxes!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​