Hello friends and family
The start of the week was tee shirt weather, but the weather now  has and autumn feeling to it. This week we brought in 2 penguins and released 8. We now have 19 YEPs and 4 White flippereds in care. On Monday the local primary schools brought their years 7 & 8 students out for a visit. They are a bright bunch and interested in the lighthouse and the wild-life.

It was my Top-tip day on Wednesday so I went to town in the afternoon. I had Maccers for lunch which was a bit of a treat. Wednesday was also special because we got notice that DOC will put $2000 towards our Malaria expenses. This is wonderful news and will supplement the $1000 from the Hampden Community Energy group.

Michele and Charlie joined our Thursday working group and watered the ferns at the Moeraki colony. I was hoping that it would bring on the rain, but we only got 1 mm!

ON Saturday, after a frosty start, we collected our 100th YEP patient for the season. It has been such a tough year for the penguins. They would be decimated without our help and the season is not over yet!
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
Another busy month has gone by and penguins keep arriving and leaving. We picked up 4 on Tuesday. 2 chicks have returned, and 2 moulted females are too thin to thrive. The big weather event passed us by – we only got 1 mm of rain, just enough to be slippery but not enough to keep the plants growing. It was warm for the first half of the week so the cooler day on Wednesday was a bit of a relief.

​On Thursday we released 8 penguins and brought in 4 skinny ones, including a White Flippered pre-moulter who has been swimming in the bay for about a week. We weighed another 3 that were 7 Kg going into the moult which is Okay. All of this is taking most of our day, and the weeds are making the most of the temporary reprieve!

​I have been buying some clothes on the internet and am challenged with size. Even measuring includes a few assumptions like – pockets in the trousers! I will probably never learn and who cares how much leg is tucked into your gumboots!

​Hiltrun came up on Friday night and on Saturday, after the rounds, we did a bit of an audit – we have seen most of our breeders in the last month, so we are very happy and relieved about that.
 

The terns are such a pleasure to see!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
This has been a quieter week. We have had penguins coming and going and more of them turning up in the colonies to moult. I had a visiting group of American students on Monday who are studying the impact of climate change on the environment. They had a lot of pertinent questions so that was great.

​Jan, Robbie and I caught an underweight penguin at Katiki Beach on Tuesday morning – it was hanging out with a dead one which died of Malaria so we have taken bloods and will begin treatment. Wednesday was my town day and very dismal and grey – a good day to get out of the place!

​Robbie and I released 7 penguins on Thursday and brought one new one into care. It takes hours to do this as we must take bloods, medicate and measure these birds. This is all part of managing Malaria. We can control release dates but not admission dates. Our mandate of minimising handling of penguins is challenged by the new requirements. Generally, we only handle the penguins 3 times – admission, transfer between ICU and pens, and release. Our challenge is to keep this regime yet administer several tests and treatments. 

​Once we have taken samples, they must be correctly stored and transported – some at -80 oC.

​Saturday was another busy day, with John and Henry added to our usual gathering. John commented about how busy the place was with science happening all over the place. It is our normal!
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
Another busy week in paradise!
Michael and Shirley arrived back from their south Pacific cruise very happy that they went, and Shirley gave me her sub-Antarctic jacket to keep me warm on winter mornings! They have been helping out with planting, weeding and fruit picking at Hampden.

​Walter came and harvested the honey on Monday – it was a very poor crop and the unhelpful weather has taken a toll on the bee health. Hopefully, the Verroa strips and some warm calm weather will help restore them to full health.

​Robbie came on Tuesday to help with the rounds. We saw a couple of penguins that may be a bit thin but left them alone as they may be here for some time as they moult, so there is no rush to pick them up. It was my turn at the top tip on Wednesday morning which meant that I did not open the soft-release pens until the afternoon. By Thursday evening, 2 of the chicks were back in care, having swum as far as Hampden, but our net goes even wider!

On Friday, Michael and Shirley shouted me out to lunch at Fleurs. – lucky me! Then hell arrived in New Zealand. A madman drove past here to Christchurch and manifested his intolerance with a gun. New Zealand was a soft target and so he was able to inflict an awful lot of damage. We need to toughen up.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
The big news is that we have no pre-fledge chicks left here – the last batch are in soft release soon to be on their way to sea. They are being replaced by underweight pre-moulters that are coming in too light to survive the moult safely. 

​This has been a week where fish supply has dominated my concerns. A load due last Friday did not arrive until Wednesday – 5 days of anxiety that I don’t need. I have spare fish – I can rationalise that there will be no hungry penguins on my watch, but once it arrives, the overwhelming sense of relief is undeniable. And then I order more!

​The fish is working its magic and the penguins are swelling up into the moult. They leave the munchies behind and may or may not eat – they choose!

​With 10 pre-fledge chicks into soft release on Thursday, of course – Friday lunchtime I pick up a “fail to fledge” chick that had come back. This is its second return. It will go eventually, in the meantime, we will feed it up again.

We now have 28 YEPs here, plus 4 White flippered penguins and the Fiordland Crested penguin.
Things are calming down.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​,Hello friends and family
Sunday was wet enough to get some indoor jobs done. We got 11 mm of rain and it just soaked straight in. On Monday Jan, Robbie and I moved our first two moulted juveniles to soft release, as well as another 4 chicks. We were down to 40 Yellow-eyed penguins here with 10 in soft release, plus one Crested and 5 White flippered. What a treat to see the now adults with their new vibrant plumage.

​On Tuesday I went to Oamaru to do the banking and get fuel and food. Jan came out in the afternoon and we picked up Mrs 87 who had an injured leg. Wednesday was another nasty one and poor Vicki braved the southerly to clean all the pens. One of our White flippered penguins died – sad. The wind was challenging when Jan and I responded to a call from visitors and went down to collect Mrs 90 who was injured.

​Thursday was much better – less wind, but still very cold. 

On Friday night the team and friends gathered for dinner at the Moeraki Tavern. It was a fun night with great people. Chris, Hiltrun, Elaine, Amanda and Bruce spent a very nice day here on Saturday – the wind had dropped, and the sun shone. It was back to summer again!

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
I had a wonderful birthday week with Paul, Jen and Olivia. On Sunday we went to Hampden and watched Olivia in the playground. While we were there, the local Hector’s dolphins put on a great display, surfing and doing a back flip.

​On Monday we went to Riverstone Kitchen for lunch and had a lovely time. I ate figs for lunch, followed by desert. What with feeding 54 penguins twice a day, there is not much time left in the middle to have adventures!

​My birthday choice was seafood mornay and it was above delicious. Jen added a chocolate delight and we demolished a magnum of Rose and French champagne. No problem!

​Jan, Robbie and I completed a penguin marathon on Thursday. We re-located one penguin that was concerning visitors because it was lying down, rescued 2 more and took 8 chicks to soft release. Every penguin movement means identifying, weighing, measuring, taking blood samples for Malaria screening and then washing the gear afterwards. Michael and Shirley arrived in the afternoon and were soon immersed in penguin life – managing fish, rescuing penguins and planting up trees for habitat development. Chris and Hiltrun arrived for dinner on Friday night and we spent yesterday checking on all the penguins and records.

Michael and Shirley left with Hiltrun at mid-day and Bruce and Amanda visited with friends in the afternoon.
I hope it rains all day today so I can blob out!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The days are rolling into one long sequence of feeding penguins, fish, organising resources and medication. I gave a talk to the Oamaru tramping club on Monday night and delivered a load of cardboard to the Toptip on Wednesday.

​We had a week of wild seas and many of our chicks chose to fledge into it. The sand has been washed from the landings and is swirling in the coastal waters. We have had one chick return already!

​Vicki came and cleaned on Thursday – bless her!  The Council sealed parts of Lighthouse Road on Thursday which will mean faster cars but less dust

​Sue and Merrin visited from Dunedin. This was a great chance to catch up on Malaria information and to discuss where to from here in terms of releasing penguins back into the mosquito environment.

Paul, Jen and Olivia arrived on Thursday evening which was so wonderful. They have been fitting into the spaces not filled with penguin stuff ever since. I so enjoy having them here!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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