Considering the strong El Niño weather pattern this year, officially declared by NIWA recently having forecast it for some time, we have been relieved to see a very different story play out at South Westland tawaki colonies this season compared to 2015 , when El Niño had disastrous effects and all chicks starved. We hope […]
Dr Gerry McSweeney of Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki reports: Since 1989 when we opened Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki each year at the beginning of July we have welcomed Tawaki/Fiordland Crested Penguins returning to the Lake Moeraki coastal forests to start their 5 month breeding season. They have swum about 2,000 kilometres from their Sub-Antarctic Convergence […]
Our late great Chair, Scientist and guide, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, loved the biennial Oamaru Penguin Symposium and encouraged any of our Trust team to attend if they could. Over the years, the symposium has moved from a little or blue penguin, kororā focus, to other Aotearoa New Zealand penguins, other penguins in far off lands […]
Pension Insurance Corporation or PIC for short loves penguins and last year gave the West Coast Penguin Trust a very generous donation. This UK company has had emperor penguins at the centre of their brand from the start. Their website notes that the penguins are memorable and intrinsically appealing and of course the West Coast […]
Linden Brown joined the trust in the middle of the 2021 breeding season and, with some guidance from our previous ranger, Matt Charteris, we were delighted that he hit the ground running. Field work is his passion and he brought considerable field work experience from his monitoring roles with the Department of Conservation. Completing the […]
Tawaki wrapped up their breeding season for 2022 in late November, and it proved to be a good year. The Trust aims to monitor nests for breeding success and to determine whether there is any predation by stoats. As was the case with kororā in the Buller region, tawaki breeding started 2-3 weeks later than […]
Penguins are aquatic birds native to the Southern Hemisphere. There are about 18 known species of penguins, the largest of which are the emperor penguins, the lead stars of the documentary, March of the Penguins. The smallest are our local birds right here on the West Coast. January 20th each year is Penguin Awareness Day, […]
Almost a year after she died and close to what would have been her 74th birthday, a memorial event will be held for Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM in Charleston on Saturday 4th March 2023. The venue will be the Charleston Goldfields Hall, 7348 Camp Street/Coast Road aka State Highway 6 and the party will start at […]
A highly infectious strain of bird flu has been spreading since 2014 and has been disastrous for both poultry and other birds in the US and Europe during 2022. It has now reached pelicans in Peru and penguins in Africa. It could reach NZ via migratory birds. Biosecurity NZ will work closely with the Department […]
The 2021/22 year has been one of change and loss for the trust, but also of productivity and hope for the future. Trust Chair, Robin Long, introduces the annual report and explained: “Overshadowing all of our work throughout the year, our inspiration, guide, scientist, and Chair for most of the Trust’s existence, Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, […]
