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HELP THE PENGUINSI

You can help us safeguard the future of the blue penguin (kororā) and the Fiordland crested penguin (tawaki); all it takes is a small donation.

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Happy New Year 2022 ! 

  

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that you are enjoying our New Zealand summer - and staying safe from the storm that's hitting the West Coast at the moment.

 

Our West Coast penguins should have nested successfully with chicks fledged and moulting complete or almost complete. It is time for most of the blue penguins to go to sea for a few months. Where they go and what they do and why, we still need to find out. Do they follow food? Their colony neighbours?  Do they head to a certain location? The Tawaki Project have been following Fiordland crested penguin between breeding seasons and they go on incredible journeys - find out more here.

 

If you have had any interesting penguin encounters on the West Coast or anywhere, this summer, we would love to hear about them and perhaps see and share photos.

 

As usual, we have all been busy in the Trust, monitoring, raising awareness, working with schools, learning new skills ourselves and championing the cause for penguins. 

 

Read on for our news plus some other interesting articles from different organisations and stories from around the globe too.

 

Considering some penguins are still moulting, it is an important time to give our usual reminder to dog owners, to please take care on our beaches and coastal areas. (Read our little note about the penguin moult below.)  Keep dogs under control at the beach, and on a lead when in or passing through the coastal vegetation or on the beach after dark.  Please encourage other dog owners to do the same.  When moulting, penguins cannot go to sea until they have grown back all their feathers, which takes approximately two weeks.  During this period, the birds lose half their bodyweight and become very stressed, so it is a very crucial time for them not to be disturbed by humans and dogs.  

 

We were very saddened to see what appeared to be a juvenile blue penguin killed by a dog in the Charleston area recently.  Thank you to those that have passed on the facebook post and thank you for your care.

 

Also just a quick reminder that if you do see an injured penguin or any wildlife that seems to be struggling, please call DOC for assistance on the hotline, 0800 DOCHOT (362 468) and do all you can to ensure it is safe from dogs. If you see or hear about a dead penguin, please let us know using our simple reporting form, ideally with a photograph, so that we can add it to our database - which informs conservation actions. 

 

Thank you for your interest and support, and please feel free to forward this newsletter or any stories to a friend or someone you meet when out and about on the beaches and talking penguins.

 

We wish you all a healthy, happy 2022! 

 

Lucy Waller

 

Education and Awareness Ranger

News from the Trust

It's Sooty Season!

 

Ranger Linden reports on how the sooty shearwaters are doing this season from our Cape Foulwind site.

 

Find out here.

 

 
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Trustee Jill reports 100% breeding success on her property

 

Trustee Jill Cotton reports:

 

"My birds have had a 100% breeding success this season. There's been a change in the visitor pattern to the beach here......"

 

Read Jill's report here.

 

 

Kerry-Jayne Wilson's long awaited new book has arrived

 

Listen to a recent RNZ National interview with Kerry-Jayne Wilson speaking about her wonderful new book, New Zealand Seabirds, A Natural History.

 

Read more here.

 

Order your copy today here! A perfect gift any time for bird lovers out there.

 
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Ranger Linden joins Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony for transponder training

 

"We've had a very big week this week, inserting 197 microchips into little penguin chicks and adults! .." Philippa Agnew from Oamaru reports.

 

Read more here.

 
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Phoenix Organics supports blue penguins with blueberry juice campaign

 

Did you get to try Phoenix Blue Juice last year?

 

Thanks to wonderful support from Phoenix Organics and their blue penguin campaign, a generous donation has been made to the West Coast Penguin Trust.  Phoenix Organics asked the Endangered Species Foundation (ESF) to help them contribute to a conservation project that works to ensure penguins are healthy and thriving - namely ours!

 

Read more here.

 
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Penguin Count mistaken identity solved -  case closed!

 

We hold an annual blue penguin count every year in October when we invite everyone to go out onto the beaches and count penguin tracks for us. We were sent photos of curious footprints by regular contributor Liz taken at Ngakawau when she was doing the penguin count.

 

We posted a copy of the photos on the NZ Bird Identification Group facebook page and the advice, actually by former DOC kiwi ranger Katherine Morris, came back - 'shag'. That explains the longer outside toe but similar size and weight to a tawaki.

 

You can also look at the track guide: https://nztracker.org/index.html# - we should have gone there first!

 

Read about our Annual Blue Penguin Count here.

 
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Penguin news from around the Globe

Penguin that swam from Antarctica to New Zealand released into the wild

 

An Antarctic penguin that swam 3000 kilometres to New Zealand's shores has been returned to the wild after a brief stay at a rehabilitation centre in Christchurch.

 

Read the story here.

 

More fascinating articles from the Australasian Seabird Group

 

The Australasian Seabird Group's latest e-Bulletin is full of interesting articles, including:

 

"Much needed foraging information to protect yellow-eyed penguins in the sub-Antarctic" 

 

"Into the sea: antimicrobial resistance determinants in the microbiota of little penguins"

 

"Lifelong selection and experience shaping breeding success on little penguins"

 

Read the interesting articles above in the e-Bulletin here.

 
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Penguin takes astounding selfie video of its diving and feeding activity 

 

The footage was taken in Argentina where WCS has supported penguin conservation for more than 20 years.

 

The camera, donated by our friends at The Tawaki Project was placed on the Gentoo penguin as part of a collaborative study on feeding ecology. The study is comparing the feeding ecology of Gentoo penguins of Argentina and the yellow-eyed penguin of New Zealand.

 

Read more and see the incredible footage here.

 
 

Here's why a new penguin colony in Antarctica is cause for concern

 

"Scientists have discovered a previously unknown colony of gentoo penguins in one of the southernmost spots these waddling birds have ever been spotted. The discovery is a cause for concern, according to the researchers..."

 

Penguins are good indicators of climate change and this is a great example.

 

Read the story here.
 
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'This Is How It Ends - the biodiversity crisis' is a fascinating documentary series of seven short films by Stuff and is well worth watching if you haven't already.  They discuss seabirds on the edge of survival, including black petrels and our unique penguins in episode one. Watch here.

A little reminder...

Moulting penguins

 

It is the time of year that penguins are moulting before they go out to sea for a few months prior to the next breeding season.

 

Moulting means they will lose all their old feathers and replace them with new feathers, which is quite a marvellous adaptation. However, while they are going through this process, they cannot go to sea as they are not waterproof, so are stuck on land unable to eat and likely to be stressed. If you see a penguin looking rather scruffy like this, please leave it alone so it can moult in peace and get back to sea safely when it's ready.  If it may be at risk from dogs, please call the DOC Hotline, 0800 DOC HOT - 0800 362 468.

 

Many thanks for your consideration and keeping our penguins protected.

 

Exciting news.....Blue Penguins & Other Seabirds II has finally arrived

 

Our new and updated education resource book Blue Penguins and Other Seabirds has finally been completed and printed!

 

It is ready for download and distribution. Download it here. (Scroll down a bit.)

 

We first published this fantastic resource and activities book in 2014 and it has been a very popular, fun, interactive tool for many teachers, educators and groups, up and down the West Coast and all over New Zealand too. 

 

Find out more about our education resource book and a bit of background as to how it came about here.

 
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You can support the Trust when you buy gorgeous sustainable jewellery and decorations from Stone Arrow

 

20% from every purchase comes to us as a donation when you put 'bluepenguin' in the discount box at the checkout!

 

https://stonearrow.co.nz/

 
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Don't forget the lovely tawaki t-shirts from Tumbleweed Tees

 

Read about Tumbleweed Tees efforts for conservation here.

 

And go straight to the tawaki tees here - a donation is made for every adult tawaki tee sold. 

 

Or simply donate, perhaps on someone's behalf here ...

 

A big THANK YOU to all our supporters, donors, volunteers and the community for all your support.

 

We really appreciate you!

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Don't forget to follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with all the important and fun local penguin news!

 

 

 

And remember our website also has all the latest news, up-to-date information about the Trust, our projects and much more!

 

Stay connected....

www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz/

Coming soon:

  • More updates on what the Trust team have been up to
  • Launching our brand new Education Resource book with local schools and school news
  • Results and reports from the 2021 penguin season 
  • And much more - local as well as some global penguin news

Follow us on Facebook and Vimeo and find out more on our website

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West Coast Penguin Trust

info@westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz  |  www.westcoastpenguintrust.org.nz

 

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