First things first!

PENGUIN TALKS  

5.30PM WEDNESDAY!!

Catherine Stewart

will be talking tawaki.

Wednesday 25th June

5.30pm, Westland Library, Hokitika.

Find out more here

 We always need your support for our penguin conservation efforts - you can make a donation here:

 Thank you very much

Hello ! 

We hope you are all staying warm this winter. Although it means a hint of hibernation for many of us humans, it means plenty of activity for penguins. After time at sea for many penguins between breeding seasons, both little penguins / kororā and Fiordland crested penguins / tawaki have returned to start all over again. Many will know exactly where they are going and who they are going with as both species are usually monogamous, returning to the same partner as well as the same nest each year. 

With a shift to our new kororā study site at Camerons Beach (Greymouth) last season and, with microchipping of adult penguins and chicks, we are looking forward to learning who has returned. It will be fascinating to see birds from last season and any newcomers to the colony. We plan to continue our foraging study again this season to add to our data from the last two years, and hopefully link that, along with breeding success data, to marine conditions and other factors to give us a much better understanding of these birds.

The 2024 breeding season drew to a close in January. It was another late season with the majority of eggs being laid in mid to late September. We had a few more interesting surprises and observations throughout the season. Read our reports in this newsletter to find out more.

Sadly, my first week back on ranger duties at Camerons Beach recently coincided with a report of a dead penguin found by locals, most likely killed by a dog. This is even more devastating for such a small colony and also for us, who will know this particular penguin. It will be hard to watch the penguin waiting for their partner to return and we can only hope they find a new one in time. We are lucky to have our large, sprawling beaches and so much space; let's give our penguins and other wildlife a fighting chance and enjoy them from afar.

The most important role we can all play is to keep our dogs under close control and not allow them to go out of our sight and especially not into the dunes and bushes at the back of a beach. And to spread the word. We know it's not easy to approach a stranger or even a friend and ask them to keep their dogs under control but you could explain it is penguin breeding season now.  Without a second parent penguin, if there are eggs or chicks they will fail. If you have concerns about loose dogs, you can always contact the good dog control folk at your local council in confidence. 

As the brand new season begins, we would like to thank you for all your interest and wonderful support as always, and we look forward to this year. We will keep you updated with news and stories from the colonies and our work and we hope to see some of you at the talks at Hokitika library tomorrow!

Lucy Waller, Ranger

A sorry start to 2025 penguin season at Camerons Beach - please be vigilant

A very unpleasant reminder to raise more awareness for our upcoming penguin season and for everyone to please keep dogs under control whilst at the beach. 

Thank you for your help everybody!

Find out more here

What happened for the West Coast Kororā during 2024?

That's a wrap for the 2024 breeding season and with the new one just around the corner, here's the news from the last season.

Find out more here

What happened at Gorge River last season? 

Ranger, Catherine Stewart, reports on her latest tawaki / Fiordland crested penguin monitoring for the 2024 season, way down south at Gorge River. 

Read her report here

Ranger Sarah Kivi reports on last season's Haast tawaki monitoring

2023 season was an unusual season where we had many 2 chick nests succeed to fledging.  It coincided with an El Niño year.  In 2024 things settled back to more of the 'norm', the occasional two chicks surviving but the majority fledge one chick per nest.

Find out more here

A shout out to some fantastic volunteers! 

We cannot list you all by name individually, but you all know who you are, and we thank every single one of you for all your efforts and time!

It is certainly not a glamourous or easy job, especially in last year's constant downpours and thick, slippery mud, which always makes penguin poo that much more unpleasant!

We are always very grateful and want to celebrate all our volunteers especially following Volunteer Week last week. 

Find out more about their adventures here

Where are the Camerons Beach kororā foraging?

The stormy weather of spring 2024 started our foraging study off to a shaky start. However, despite the challenges, we managed to find a long enough break in the weather to deploy our first GPS loggers at Camerons Beach in early September and continued the study over the following weeks.

Find out more here

Keeping dogs safe and secure

Many people don't believe in the presence of penguins on our local beaches as they are rarely seen. This can mean that penguins are not considered by dog owners. 

We are always encouraging responsible dog ownership and this year, with support from animal control officers, we will be sharing a message about keeping dogs safe. We hope applying some conservation psychology to the message will result in penguins and other wildlife staying safe too.

Find out more here

A shout out to our cool West Coast

kaitiaki tamariki!

We are so lucky here on the West Coast to have such cool, proactive and enthusiastic children and youth, who give up their time and energy to help protect and advocate for our local wildlife, particularly our penguins!

Thank you to every single one of you! You know who you are!

Enjoy some wonderful photos here

Nannas knit jumpers for penguins

Little jumpers knitted by grandmothers are being used to prevent penguins caught in oil spills from getting ill while trying to clean their feathers.

Joyce Baxtrem, 94, explained that she has knitted jumpers for both her children but she had "never knit for a penguin" before.

Find out more here

World's oldest Humboldt penguin celebrates birthday

A Humboldt penguin believed to be the oldest of its species in the world has celebrated its 37th birthday in Cornwall of all places.

Humboldt penguins normally have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years in the wild.

Read the article here

The African penguin is still in trouble

Six key breeding areas are to be safeguarded to help save the African penguin, following a landmark court order in South Africa.

Last year scientists warned that the species was declining by around 8% every year and could become extinct within a decade.

Find out more here

Antarctic engineers p-p-pick up a new team member

"He was a particular type of penguin who seemed to think the 50-tonne excavator we had here was either his parent or some sort of friend of his," Mr Cox said.

Find out more here

As always, a very big THANK YOU to all our

supporters, donors, volunteers and the community for all your continued support.

ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS ...

DOC hotline 0800 DOCHOT (362 468)

Handy to know if you come across an injured penguin or any sick or injured wildlife that seems to be struggling whilst out there on the beach, river mouths or roads.  If you see a little penguin / kororā on the beach it almost certainly needs assistance.  If you see a Fiordland crested penguin / tawaki on the beach north of Fox Glacier, it may well need assistance.  

Biosecurity NZ hotline 0800 80 99 66

To report groups of three or more sick, dying or dead birds, marine mammals or other wildlife.

Also, if you see or hear about a dead penguin, please let us know using our simple reporting form, ideally with a photograph and clear description of the location.  If you can have a look and it's obvious or apparent, your thoughts on possible cause of death would be very helpful.  We can then add the information to our database - which informs our conservation actions. If you can move the penguin out of sight and out of reach of tides and dogs, that will be helpful in case we need to collect it.  Thank you. 

Coming soon in the next newsletter:

• The start of the 2025 season
• Penguin fences 
• Penguin detection dog surveys
• News from the schools
• Other penguin news
• And much more!

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West Coast Penguin Trust

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

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