​Hello friends and family
By the time I had treated the standing water last Sunday, I had walked 10 km. The gear that I was using was very light and so I was just pleasantly tired by the end of it. In contrast, on Monday I laid tiles in front of Robbie’s rehab and by the time I had cleared away the 6 bins of soil left over from putting in the drainage, carted about ½ m3 of shingle and the tiles, I was very tired!

​On Tuesday, Robbie and I constructed the new mosquito proof soft release pens. This was possible because Robbie had pre-cut the timber and had a plan. We still had to carry all the old pens out and the new stuff in, about ¼ km up hill but that was relatively easy. Jan did the monitoring rounds and the penguins were all settled on their eggs, so we could work until about 3 pm when the penguins started coming home.

​ I am so happy – delighted in fact- that our big plan has come to pass. There was an article in the ODT about a high incidence of Avian Pox in Wax-eyes and Wood pigeons in Otago. Part of the management is to control mosquitoes and isolate birds from them Tick, tick for us! 

​All of this has cost money and we have been so fortunate to have the support of the Farm next door and we have eaten into our financial reserves. My idea of tragedy is to have money in the bank and no penguins.

​On Thursday Jan and I were lucky enough to see a pod of 5 Orcas swimming north and when we did the rounds, all the penguins were very settled.

The storm arrived on Friday. We had sleet, hail and high winds. I spent most of the day indoors – either soft or sensible, I am not sure!
Chris and Hiltrun arrived for dinner and we did the rounds on Saturday, discovering that a penguin egg had been stolen from the south nest during the week. This is the 3rd stolen egg we have experienced – people take them from the south end. I don’t know why.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
This week the last of our expected penguin eggs were laid and now the colonies are very quiet as the eggs are incubated – mostly by snoozing on them! Robbie came on Tuesday and we mosquito proofed the rehab centre – next on the list is the soft release pens.
Wednesday was my turn at the Top-tip shop – the months go by so quickly! 

​On Thursday, Jan, Robbie and I did the monitoring round and found the penguins to be quite settled except in Tickle Bay which was criss-crossed with penguin footprints! Robbie brought out his trailer and has begun work on the soft release pens. These need to be upgraded to protect the penguins from mosquitoes.

​The weather forecasters keep promising us rain which does not eventuate, so we just make our plans for fine weather and only got wet once this week! This week, for the first time, visitors reported not seeing any seals when they walked down to the point. It would be sad indeed if they succumbed to constant harassment and chose to live somewhere else.

​Yesterday Hiltrun and I did the rounds in beautiful sunshine and admired the red-billed gulls that are beginning to nest on the headland. Today I am checking the ponds for mosquitoes wrigglers and treating any standing water that is infected.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
We have been very lucky to have had about 1 m3 gravel donated to us by the Lighthouse repair men. The challenge is that it is in the drive and needed in the rehab pen. Little and often is my motto so I started shifting it on Sunday – 2 wheelbarrow loads at a time, at which rate, it will take weeks!

​Monday was wet, so I went to town with Jan and went to the dentist for a check-up and clean - $240 later and I have decided to only go once a year or else change my dentist. We got overalls for the monitoring and I have put our logos on them with Velcro so they can come off for washing.

​Tuesday was the day I got my truck back - 2 weeks is a long time to use a borrowed vehicle – thank you Robbie very much, for such a helpful, trusting gesture. This was also the first time this season that we saw signs of the Titi returning.

​Wednesday was the day of gale force winds, so I stayed close to home and got the garden dug for the carrots and beetroot this season. By Thursday it was only gusty and Jan and I did the monitoring rounds. We found 38 nests with 70 eggs and still hope for more! Robbie worked on the rehab pen. He brought out the timber for the soft release pens and also his saw bench. With that he sawed up the crooked timber to make batons to hold the insect mesh in place. To buy it would have cost $4.63 / m and he made at least 100 m. Wow!

Jan came out on Friday and we checked the little penguins on the island to see how they survived the storm. The first of the chicks have fledged and there are some new eggs.
Yesterday I went north with Chris to count nesting Shags while Hiltrun did the nest round. Our travels took us to the Waitaki River mouth where we had to wade through icy water to reach the Otago Shag roosting spot – the to Boatman’s Harbour to count Spotted Shag nests.
Hiltrun found 2 new penguin nests and so now we have 22 here and 18 at the Moeraki colony which is 5 less than last year.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The forecast for Monday was awful so the digger driver decided to breach the dam before the rain and came out early in the morning. The first raindrops fell as we were leaving so that was perfect. The 9 mm of rain was great for the new plants as well.

​We did the rounds on Tuesday and planted some trees. The rounds these days include the lambing beat and by Tuesday we had a set of triplets, 4 sets of twins and 2 singles with 3 ewes yet to lamb.

​Chris and Adrian came on Wednesday, so we got more flaxes planted and the gorse cut down. Thursday was a great day with Robbie and Chris building the rehab centre and Jan and I doing the rounds. After we had finished, we went to Doug and Robyn’s farm and collected some more baby native trees. 

​Friday was our day for the pre-season meeting with DOC in Dunedin so off we went with Jan, my truck is still in the garage. It was great that the meeting was in work time and 2 DOC rangers came up from Southland, so we covered the full area. There was still no evident sense of urgency visible to us, but at least we are now having a conversation about protecting penguins from tourists.

Yesterday Hiltrun, Jan and I did the rounds and we now have 18 nests here and 16 at the Moeraki colony. We also have a new set of twins and only one ewe left to lamb.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
This was the week that the truck went into the garage to have its worn transmission repaired so you would think it would have been a quiet one!
On Sunday and Monday, I got stuff to where it needed to be before I took the truck to Palmerston.
Chris picked me up from there as he came up to make a submission about the flying fox destined for the Oamaru harbour on Tuesday morning. Jan and Robbie did the trap round here on Tuesday morning and in the process, discovered our first Yellow-eyed penguin egg of the season. We also found one at the Moeraki colony, so the new season is underway!

​Jan and I had planned an excursion to visit Sirocco, the kakapo, on Tuesday evening and what with the action-packed day, only just made it in time for the tour at 6:45 pm and had to eat our pizza dinner cold when we got home.
Wednesday was my day at the Top tip and the day our first lamb was born. On Thursday Jan and Robbie came and we did a mosquito and nest check round. We found mosquito casings but no live ones.

By Friday we had caught 20 mosquitoes in our home-made traps. Poor penguins – stuck at home on eggs and biting bugs abound!

We found Little penguin chicks on Friday and had 3 new lambs added to our flock. Chris and Hiltrun came up and we did a monitoring round on Saturday. We now have 15 YEP eggs and 4 Spotted Shag nests with chicks. Spring has sprung
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
The week began quietly. With a stormy forecast, I took the planting gear to the Moeraki colony on Sunday which meant that I could walk there to check the live traps and plant 6 Cabbage trees each day from then on. On Monday I planted a new penguin house and by Tuesday it was occupied! This was not all that random – there was penguin poo in a small valley, so I expected a homeless penguin – problem solved!

​On Tuesday I saw the first lambs on the farm for the season. They looked great and so did their mum. Some of the pregnant sheep are as wide as they are high. By Thursday someone had taken a lamb from its mother and put it in the paddock next to Patrick’s sheep. Only a townee would do such a cruel thing.

​On Wednesday I put the Varroa strips into the beehives. While I was doing the very last one, a bee stung me on the end of my nose. It is a while since I have been stung and my face swelled up on one side but by morning it did not hurt anymore. Robbie came on Thursday and cut 50 tree protectors and we planted 18 trees in less than an hour – I think we have the process sussed by now!

​Elaine came on Friday and we saw Malaria plasmodium in penguin blood for the first time – thanks to lots of awesome experts, so willing to share their expertise!
 

Chris and Hiltrun came up on Friday evening and yesterday we all worked on trees in the paddocks to let the penguins get on with their important preparations for breeding.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Last Saturday I picked up our first patient for the 2018/19 season. He is a young male with an injured, bleeding flipper but under 5 Kgs so I kept him until yesterday, so he could fatten up a bit. I collected a blood sample, so we could check for Malaria.

​Sunday was busy with 7 volunteers working for the penguins and progress was made all round! On Monday while Jan and I were doing the trapline, we saw dolphins close in to the shore, heading north quickly, but not so fast that they could not manage a couple of flips.

​Tuesday was quiet and on Wednesday Jan, Robbie and I went for a walk in the Herbert forest and we visited the Waianakarua site for the first time. It is much bigger than I expected, and I see the first step as being fencing off a manageable area. There are serious issues there to challenge restoration, including a herd of goats and rampant hemlock.

​I have begun monitoring standing water for mosquito larvae. At this stage I am not treating any until I find living larvae. I have found dead ones in several places.

We have finished most of the mosquito proofing of the hospital and now will fix the last issues and turn our attention to the pens both here and for soft release. Yesterday we worked to penguin music in both reserves as the birds called to each other and because spring has sprung!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Another wonderful week in paradise. The penguins are starting to stay home and prepare their nests for the arrival of new eggs in about 4 weeks’ time. On Sunday and Monday, I caught up on the mundane household tasks which were only relieved by a “Bon Voyage” lunch with Marian.

​Jan and Robbie came out on Tuesday and we checked and re-baited all the traps and met up with Ross, the farm manager to discuss management of sheep and ponds. He is planning the work for a large digger to come in and remove most of the risky water to reduce the mosquito population and ultimately, the risk of Avian Malaria wiping out the penguins. We also planted 42 cabbage trees and found our first mosquito larvae. Fortunately, they were dead – probably because of Sunday’s frost, but a signal that management of standing water has to start now.

​ON Friday the team headed south, and we visited the Dunedin Wildlife hospital, Penguin Place and Chris and Hiltrun’s place. The Wildlife hospital is set up very well, a large open space for working in and quiet wards for the patients. Lisa has state of the art equipment and is achieving impressive results for our wildlife. Penguin Place has flourished since I was last there, the trees have matured, and the place looks fantastic – ideal penguin habitat. We met the ducks and geese at Chris and Hiltrun’s place and checked out the 100s of trees waiting in the nursery for us to plant out when they are big enough.

​My truck got the once over while we were in Dunedin and it needs serious repairs – never mind, a safe vehicle is a priority.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
​