Hello friends and family, The week was off to another glorious start. Sunday was so nice, after planting 15 trees here in the morning, I went to the Bluffs and planted another 10 in the afternoon. It was great to be outside and finish the day with a feeling of accomplishment. The team came on Tuesday and after nest upgrades down the hill, we planted another 20 trees at Okahau. On Thursday, the cold spell arrived – no tree planning in the icy conditions, but we did upgrade several nest sites. Friday was the day of the “End of season’ meeting in Dunedin, so Robbie and I set off early to be in Dunedin at 9 am. It was not a fast trip as the road has not yet been gritted for the winter, but there was only ice in one spot. The temperature did get down to minus three degrees. The meeting went well but there was no indication of a change of direction, only a bit of tinkering to keep the workers quiet. When I got home, I weighed Bruno, who is now heavy enough to be released. This morning it is grey and cold, great weather for manual work.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family Happy Mother’s day to all you mothers out there! It has been a steady week here. The mornings have been cold, but then the sun has come out and the afternoons have been lovely. Toby and Jan came out on Tuesday morning, and we continued with the nest box upgrades. Wednesday was my day at the Toptip. I had a steady stream of people but made very little money. It was good to catch up with the regulars, then get 4mm of rain in the afternoon. On Thursday, Jan and I were joined by Toby, Mark, and Bronwyn. This meant we got 20 trees planted. The ground remains soft but not too wet. The tourists just keep coming, undeterred by the cold or the wind. Their parking continues to be creative, but I have only been blocked out once. Robbie returned Bruno on Friday afternoon, looking fantastic, thanks to the South Island Wildlife hospital, and Pauline. Yesterday I got a phone call at 6:30am – the aurora was glowing beautifully. In my socks and pyjamas, it was rather cold - zero degrees. Much more amazing at 8:30 last night when the solar aurora filled half the sky. It was clearly visible by sight and intensified by my cell phone camera. I have about 20 awesome shots in a week when I have a surplus of photos anyway. Sigh. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family, We were treated to glorious weather for the start of the week. Light breezes and sunshine took us up to 20 degrees C and it was great to be outside and active. The team came out on Tuesday, and we found a lot of penguins at home down the hill. They are checking out the nest upgrades that we are doing and were generally making a lot of noise. By Thursday they were all out fishing and on Friday, the big swells arrived from the south to give the seals a bit of fun in the surf. Yesterday I planted my 10 trees at the Bluffs. It was a lovely day and a pleasure to be outside and active. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family, On Sunday Monica and I went to Anderson’s lagoon, looking for Spoonbills but only saw a couple in the distance. We checked out Shag Point on our way home. Monday was the day for farewells, and I dropped Monica off in Dunedin on my way to a meeting. Thank you, Monica, and happy travels. The team was joined by Mark on Tuesday, so we began the winter upgrade of nests down the hill. We are replacing the nest boxes that get particularly stinky when the chicks are being raised. We picked up the underweight moulter at nest 20 but it was Mrs 26 so that is a mystery. We then planted 20 trees at Okahau. I got a call on Wednesday from a DOC officer in Blenheim. They had found a fledgling Hoiho on their dog walking beach. They have never found one that far north before. It was Bruno. Bruno is a female that has had an interesting life already. She went to the Dunedin Wildlife hospital at 2 days old and failed to thrive. She stayed there for 15 days and when she came home, we fostered her into nest 80. 15 days later, she was attacked by a predator and injured. She could not stand up and went back to the wildlife hospital for treatment. 17 days later, she was home again, put in rehab with other chicks and had issues around her posture. It took her 2 months to recover and feed from the hand, but she did, and so was released in good health on 18th February. You can watch her go to sea here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWkk9Rn9Ofk&t=681s 2 months later she arrived in Blenheim weighing 3.8kg, so in need of a helping hand. She will go to Christchurch and then maybe back here. More nest upgrade work was done by the team on Thursday and on Friday I planted another 10 trees as we had another 6mm of rain.
Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family The weather has returned to our normal sunny awesomeness and after the rain, the tree planting has begun. On Monday morning I picked up Monica, our new American volunteer from Palmerston and joy of joys, she eats a normal diet. She checked out the point in the morning and in the afternoon, we planted the first 10 Akeake trees. On Tuesday, after doing the rounds in the morning, we went to the Bluffs to check on the Whale. It was just a pile of bones – interesting bones, none the less. Wednesday was the day to take the scenic route to Oamaru – up the Kakanui river valley to the Elephant Rocks, down to the Waitaki river, which was magnificent and then to Oamaru. While Monica got the gear she needed for her upcoming tramp of the Routeburn Track, I got my ‘flu and COVID jabs. The Chemist in Oamaru did them both with no fuss and that was great. We carried on to check out the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony and caught up with Henry and his penguin news. We had lunch at the Boulders on the way home and Monica cooked dinner. The team came out on Thursday, and we did the monitoring rounds, finding Mrs 160 with a minor flipper injury but underweight so she came into care. We are doing a blitz on the traps at the moment and catching feral cats, rats and ferrets. Some traps have 4 different lures in them! In the afternoon we planted 12 Mountain Akeakes at the Bluffs. On Friday, Monica joined Bronwyn for a swim, and we all met at the Tavern for a meal of Blue Cod. Delicious! Yesterday was a wonderful day because Mrs 20 has come home. She is 3 weeks late to moult, but she is so welcome anyway. This leaves us with two missing females and one that we have no real evidence of, except feathers, I took Monica to Trotters gorge to find unicorn food in the afternoon. It was a great walk and enjoyed by us both. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family, The change of seasons continues to bring beautiful skies and wonderful light – we are hoping for rain! It is a pre-requisite for the new planting season. Young trees are gathering weeds and becoming root-bound – time to plant them out. The team came out on Tuesday, and all was well in the colonies. The task of the day was to empty the big freezer and use the chest freezers to save money on running costs. With everyone’s help it did not take long, but how embarrassing! I had supplies dating back to 2017. Fortunately, everything just fitted in the chest freezers, so there was no waste. It was my turn at the Toptip on Wednesday, and it was a quiet morning, but the big news is, there is now a toilet! Up until now, going to the loo was really off the agenda unless another worker turned up to cover. Now I will take a thermos and have a coffee mid-morning. What luxury! By Thursday morning, the predicted rain had not arrived and so we did the rounds, and, in the afternoon, Jan and I tackled a boxthorn while Robbie built some new houses and Murray sorted plants and traps. At 3pm it started to rain.
After two wet days, I am looking forward to doing the rounds today. Have a great week! Rosalie Hello friends and family. The week started with average weather, but on Tuesday it was a cracker – warm, still, and beautiful. The team came out and we did the rounds – Mr. 8 had company, but we don’t know who she is. We brought in Mr. and Mrs. 16 and Mrs. 23. The 16s eluded us last season so I was very pleased that they both fed from the hand as that will keep handling to a minimum. We released the Kaikoura chick and an adult. This brought the number in care to 20. Jan stayed and cleaned 2 pens. On Wednesday, I did some weed spraying at the Hampden house and around here. I have used the electric lawnmower to mow the lawns here and it was very straight forward. Because I can turn it on and off without a fuss, it makes the whole job easy. I can complete the job on a single charge, so that is a plus too. The team came out on Thursday, and we did the monitoring rounds. Two penguins came in, a moulting adult and a returned fledgling that just needs a top up. Four penguins were released. There were some new moulters in the colony, but they are a great weight and don’t need help, despite being so late. We have passed 100 penguins in care this season with the current total at 103, including all species. The last few days have been a time for releasing penguins back to the wild. We now have 7 in care. We have used up all of the donated salmon smolt and it definitely showed in improved release weights. Thank you again, Alpine Salmon. Have a great week!
Rosalie Hello friends and family – Happy Easter! This week started with a couple of road trips. I took an injured chick down to Dunedin on Sunday afternoon and picked up our wandering chick from Timaru on Monday. Thomas had cared for it in Christchurch, and we met in the middle. We had no new patients on Tuesday or Thursday. The breeders are slowly coming home, at good weights, so they do not need our help. This is a blessing because our 900kg of fish supplies is now down to about 49kg. The penguins in care are slowly completing their moult and can be released. Some settled weather would be great! Cleaning is nearly a full-time job! The team came out on Thursday, and we found another 4 penguins returned to moult and all at good weights. It was windy – and again on Friday. This morning it is overcast but still – a great day for monitoring penguins! Have a great week!
Rosalie |
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