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January 2008
Happy New Year to all!
January has proved to
be another busy month with all sorts of birds being sent to the
Centre.
Blue penguins…
People have made a real effort this summer to give us a call before
removing penguins from beaches, which is been great.
Sometimes penguins are just looking for some place dry and warm to
rest, as the rough seas will drive them ashore. If you see a penguin
on the shore, never pick it up and put it back in the sea. Why?
Because once a penguin has been touched it will loose its natural
water proofing. However, if you think it may be in danger from
predators, place it in the long grass above the high tide mark. Once
safe it will rest for around five days before returning to the sea
on its own. If you do bring one in to the Centre because it is
injured, never wrap it in a towel or put it in water, as doing so
will kill it. Just place it in a box with something soft for it to
rest on and keep it warm and dry.
Other bird news…
The wandering albatross which flew in to the bow of a boat in the
Bay of Islands earlier in the month had to be put to sleep. The
quick response from the skipper of the boat to get the albatross to
the Centre was great, but unfortunately the damage to its hip could
not be repaired.
Two pied shags were also rescued this month after being injured by
fish hooks and tangled in line. They would have drowned if their
rescuer had not taken the time to save them. Thankfully, we had them
for two days and they were both were released.
And, a giant petrel who decided that Tutukaka was a great place to
‘hang out’, spent a week accepting easy meals from local admirers
before taking flight again and ending up at Pataua North. I’m sure
everyone who saw it in Tutukaka gave it something to eat. I
recovered it from Pataua and brought it back to the Centre. The tip
of the feathers on its left wing had been broken off which is why it
couldn’t take off from the water. To get it on its way, we will trim
the broken feather and glue some new ones back on. Glue? You
say…yes, you did read right and, yes we have done this before and
yes it works very well. What happens is that eventually the new
feathers grow and then the mended ones fall out.
We are also currently hand rearing a young bittern which should be
released next week.
Visitors return to Centre…
Visitors to the Centre enjoyed viewing a number of different birds
due to many being handed in over the holiday period. The recovering
birds were a great attraction for our visitors. For many, this is
the only chance they will get to see some of our protected and wild
birds up close. It’s great to share what we do at the Centre with
our visitors, many of whom were holidaying in Northland from out of
town and overseas. It was also nice to see some familiar faces and a
good number of returnee visitors.
Kiwi action online…
The two kiwi chicks that we hatched in the Bayer incubation unit are
doing very well and are putting on weight. We should be able to
transfer them to Limestone Island very soon. If you go to our
website and click on the web cams tab you should be able to see them
feeding at night.
Robert & Robyn Webb |
Other Issues:
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006 |
