Blog
Old girl is back.
We all have penguins that hold a special place in our heart and Old girl is one of them as she has had some tough times over the year.
But this year she is getting moral support from some of our woolly friends.
But this year she is getting moral support from some of our woolly friends.
On our weekly Monitoring rounds we were thrilled to find our old girl. A penguin that still has her flipper band. She had a breeding failure last season, her and her partner were kicked out of their beautiful home by another penguin couple… and we hadn’t seen our banded bird since. But yay, yesterday we found her back in her box! She’s 14 years old this year. And she’s in the same general location she’s always lived at. Her nest boxes over the years have moved around a bit. As her neighbourhood is near the creek. We have had to rebuild them several times - flooding took her last nest box in 2021 all the way to Sumner beach in Christchurch.
She seems pretty happy with her partner, snuggled into her sturdy new nest box, which is built up on a mound out of potential flood water zone (hopefully). We had built more nesting boxes close by this one last season (after the eviction) – all being well, her and her partner can keep their home this year and the problem makers can move in next door instead.
… If your wondering about my woolly monitoring companions, that’s just part of working around Shireen’s incredibly friendly Valais blacknose sheep. You just have to work around the ever curious woolly creatures - while they inspect what you are doing and nudge you for cuddles.
She seems pretty happy with her partner, snuggled into her sturdy new nest box, which is built up on a mound out of potential flood water zone (hopefully). We had built more nesting boxes close by this one last season (after the eviction) – all being well, her and her partner can keep their home this year and the problem makers can move in next door instead.
… If your wondering about my woolly monitoring companions, that’s just part of working around Shireen’s incredibly friendly Valais blacknose sheep. You just have to work around the ever curious woolly creatures - while they inspect what you are doing and nudge you for cuddles.
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