​Hello friends and family
The gull chicks have hatched, and we caught 3 stoats in one of the traps placed beside the gull nests to catch predators. We are well pleased with that!

​Our last penguin eggs have hatched, and we are treating the last of the tiny chicks. They are so vulnerable that every day, we save the life of at least one of them. It might be a bone jammed in their throat, a membrane that has dried and turned leathery or a chick that has crawled out of the nest in the heat and cannot get back in. The responsibility can be quite daunting. The nests with inexperienced parents are the most likely to be the site of trouble. As the chicks grow, they become more robust and can handle life better so our stress is reduced.

​On Thursday we began our next phase of monitoring – weighing the chicks once a week to make sure that they are all progressing well. That was how we discovered that one chick had set out on an adventure way too soon. It had come out of its nest and Lindsey found it on the beach, 30 m below, still alive! Needless to say, we have now added a new barrier to stop it happening again.

It was still doing fine yesterday thank goodness. Currently we have 60 chicks. Some are still very new and tiny, some have Diphtheria, and we are treating them, but most are past the worst risk of peri-natal death. Our goal is to save them all. We also have 4 young females in care. One had Malaria, one has a fungal throat and the other 2 are under weight. Its what we do!
Have a great week!
Rosalie

​Hello friends and family
We had a damp start to the week, and it got cold. The silver lining is that the mosquitoes don’t like the cold! Jan came out to help on Sunday and Monday. The whole team turned up on Tuesday and Dom and Lindsey completed the planting of the cabbage trees.

​Wednesday and Thursday went to plan but on Friday, Robbie and I found 3 dead chicks. Two of them died of Pneumonia but the 3rd one died trying to hatch. We have 2 more nests left to hatch and then we will be working to keep as many chicks alive as we can.

​When we do the rounds, we not only find disease, but also bones stuck in the chick’s throat. On Friday one had a bone across its mouth and sticking out through the skin on both sides. The poor thing had no chance without a helping hand.

To make Friday 13th even blacker, we saw a boat harassing a pod of dolphins, just off the point. It went on for at least 10 minutes and was very disturbing to watch as the target seemed to be a calf. Sometimes I despair for the planet when people cannot share.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
November is our most intense month and this year it is no different. Diphtheria has raced through both colonies and on Monday we found our first dead chick. It had been on antibiotics for 2 days, so I do not think Diphtheria killed it, but it has been sent off for an autopsy.

​We released our hospital patient on Tuesday, so it was a bit of a surprize to pick up another one. This one has malaria and is now being treated. Daily visits to the colony have a spin-off for the needy ones as well. We picked up another one on Friday.

​On Thursday night we got 10 mm of rain so there was a lot of slipping and sliding on Friday as we did the rounds. We then had 56 chicks and 7 more nests to hatch. Lindsey has become a regular member of the team and he brings a new set of skills with him. 

​Yesterday we did the rounds and sadly found both chicks in nest 34 dead. They were too far gone to be autopsied and so we replaced them with an egg that is past its due date to give it a chance. We were joined by Anne, a volunteer vet from Christchurch who will do her best to help the penguins up there.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family.
Sunday was warm as predicted, so in the morning I checked the chicks and, in the afternoon, I did the bees. In the process I discovered that Owen’s cow has calved and in 2 weeks’ time I will be able to get some fresh milk. I have all but forgotten how to make cheese, so the excitement is fresh, all over again! On Monday we even got some 20 mm + of rain. 

​Tuesday was one of those crazy days when things just all happen at once. We did the rounds in the morning and found 12 chicks.  We moved an egg from a penguin with flipper damage and then got a call about some precious eggs that needed a home as their mum had just died. Their lay date was not known so they had to stay together. That meant swapping the morning egg back out and giving the experienced pair 2 eggs to raise. Then I got a call about a penguin beached in Moeraki. I looked high and low – stumbling over moving rocks and was just about to abandon the search when the penguin called. 

​It was in the thick of a Boxthorn bush. I had made the mistake of coming out without my hat and ended up caught in the middle of the bush by my hair and sliding in the mud. After about ½ hour, we managed to rescue the penguin and I made it home for tea with Marian about 45 minutes late. I was so remorseful for being late, I just got stuck into delicious pizza and wine, planning to shower and change later.

​After she had gone home, I looked in the mirror and a boxthorn in my ear had been bleeding down my neck and I looked like I had had my throat cut. I do not know how Marian kept a straight face!

Yesterday we did the rounds and found 28 chicks but also Diphtheria at the Moeraki colony. Our commitment is to have 2 people doing the rounds each day for as long as it takes to save as many chicks as possible. It was a good day because there were no deaths!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The week started out busy and never let up! On Sunday we got a call out about a Leopard Seal stranded on the boat ramp in Moeraki. Off we went and soon saw that it had an abscess that had burst, and the seal needed to stay out of the water until it had stopped oozing. Dom stayed beside it to let the locals know that it was a natural event and I picked him up a few hours later when the decision was made that it was best left to sort itself out. By Monday afternoon it had gone back to sea. 

​The team came on Tuesday, as did Hiltrun and John, to put trackers on the single male penguins. They got 5 of the 6 trackers out and John came back on Wednesday evening to deploy the last one. Dom has been kept busy doing data entry and planting trees. 

​We did the rounds again on Thursday and got pipped at the post by Penguin Place who reported their first egg pipping! Lindsay joined the team and did some watering. Trii joined the team yesterday and did some watering. We completed the candling and found 2 chicks and 3 pips all up It  is so wonderful to see the season begin with such bounty.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
I spent Sunday preparing for a working bee on Monday. The Dunedin DOC team came up for a working bee and we planted out the water tanks on the top of the hill. It was great to get that job done as it is the last planting of the season. Ross has connected a water supply so we will be able to water the trees through the summer.

​Mel arrived in the afternoon with her penguin searching team and it was great to catch up!
On Tuesday, Liam Wairepo, the Waitaki Labour candidate came out for a visit, so we were able to alert him to the challenges that we and the penguins are facing. The weather delivered a little magic which was a nice change from the rest of the week.

​I spent Wednesday indoors, catching up on administrivia, and the same again on Friday. I don’t know whether it is expectation which makes spring cold weather worse than winter cold weather, but it was enough for me to choose indoors.
Will brought Dom out on Friday afternoon so it was great to meet him. He is working on a research grant that Penguin Rescue has established to develop an app to improve penguin monitoring. 

Yesterday we candled the eggs in 25 of the 42 nests.7 were infertile, giving a starting point of 86% fertility. This is average for YEPs
The calendars have arrived. They are $20 each. To place your order, please deposit the amount in our bank account Kiwi Bank 38-9016-0481348-01 , Penguin Rescue, with your name and ‘calendar’ as the code. Then email me and I will post them to you. Postage is included. If you are a paid up member, you will get one anyway!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Nothing stays the same here for long. I spent Sunday tackling the “to do” list and was interrupted by a man who wanted to buy the camper.  On Tuesday he came and took it away. I am very pleased to have it be used by someone else. 

​Our last breeding penguins have laid their second eggs and so incubation begins – there is less than 2 weeks until the first egg hatches, so we are very excited!  We spent Thursday morning making 2 nests safer for the chicks when they arrive. 

​Dealing with amphibious species presents its own challenges in that it is very difficult to give an accurate head count. Penguins come and go to their own agenda – some stay out at sea and some stay home. The best way to track the population is to count nests. This gives a comparison over time to measure the size of the colony. Most Yellow-eyed penguins lay 2 eggs which may be fertile so even counting eggs is not as useful as counting nests.

Yellow-eyed penguins are philopatric – they return to their breeding sites, often to the detriment of their long-term survival. Our increase in nest numbers is because we have recruited 5 new breeding females – they are only 2 years old and 4 of them were hatched here. The other one moved here over a year ago. Our increase is not at the expense of other colonies.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We have turned the corner – 41 nests so far and 3 more 2-year-old females that may yet figure it all out! This is an increase of 8% - any increase will do – it is the first since 2013! The team is happy to take the credit – we think managing both Diphtheria and Malaria is key.

​There is news on the wider bird front as well. The Spotted Shags have laid, and the Titi are returning from Siberia – each day there are more burrows excavated with bird footprints and the unmistakable smell of Titi.

​The Red-billed gulls have begun nest building.
The weather, on the other hand, has thrown everything at us. Blizzard conditions and raging seas have been daunting. Patrick and I were out checking the penguins and the tourists kept on coming. How they kept their campervans on the road is a mystery to me.

​This is a fabulous time of the year; spring delivers promises and then we are back to winter. I have planted the tomato plants in the hothouse and the Kakabeak seeds are sprouting. This week I will plant peas, with the hope that we can eat them fresh for Christmas.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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