Travels and Birds: Oamaru

That black spot in the middle really is a Yellow-eyed Penguin

Our main reason for stopping in Oamaru was the chance to see the Yellow-eyed Penguin. It is also another great opportunity to watch the Little Blue Penguins on their nightly return from the sea. Yellow-eyed are a bit larger than the Little Blues and are not as afraid of being on land during the day. The Little Blues are so small, less than 12 inches long, that they will be attacked and eaten if they arrive much before dark. Like the Little Blues, the Yellow-eyed spend most of the day in the ocean feeding and return to shore and their nests in the late afternoon. The big differences are that the Yellow-eyed return well before dark and generally return one at a time. They seem to need more space on land which means there are fewer of them and can be harder to see.

At 4:30, we headed out to the landing area for the Yellow-eyed. The viewing hide is covered and only a short walk from the parking area so the rain wasn’t too much of a bother until the wind really picked up and blew inside the hide. Linda had rain pants and a rain coat so she was pretty well off, just a bit cold. My coat is only rain-repellent and jeans aren’t waterproof so I did get pretty damp as we waited and waited. The hide is also well above the beach so viewing the little guys is difficult even in the best of weather.

After almost an hour of waiting with several others, we were about ready to give up when one of our fellow travelers said he thought he saw one. He was right although it was a long ways up the beach. Our wait had paid off. After playing in the surf for a while, our little guy stopped for quite a time on the beach before heading inland to her next. I did get off a couple of pictures, but as you can see it is only possible to tell that we are looking at a penguin. We hope we will find others down the road to get a better picture.

Having met our goal, we headed off to dinner and a chance to dry out a bit at the Last Post Restaurant and Bar. Without a booking we had to eat in the game room, but the gamers quickly left and we had a nice meal before heading off to the Blue Penguin House to watch them come home for the evening.

We had visited earlier in the day to secure our booking and take a tour of the site. They have built over 300 nest boxes and are planning to build more as this is one place in New Zealand where the numbers are increasing. We wandered through the site on the boardwalks and picked out where we wanted to sit when we returned in the evening. We also had the chance to look into a few of the nest boxes to see one sitting on eggs and two recently hatched chicks. The viewing is exciting, but the stench is overpowering. I hope the penguins nostrils filter that out or at least that they think of it as pleasant and homey.

The viewing setup here is great. Both smaller numbers of penguins and smaller numbers of people make for a much more intimate experience than we had at Phillip Island. As wonderful as the experience is a Phillip Island, this is better. Here the penguins are only a few feet from us as they waddle across the grass to their nests. The only negative at all from our spot is that we did not see them actually climbing onto the rocks. We did see them fighting the crashing waves as they neared the rocks, but they disappeared for a few moments as they landed. With a higher tide, we could have watched this, too. With a lower tide, we would have seen them come ashore on sand and begin their treks crossing it before reaching the rocks.

After landing it only takes a few moments and they reappear and begin their trek to the nests and the fun really begins for us. While some of them waddle slowly across the grass others seem to be in a race. They lean forward and pedal their short little legs fast so they don’t actually fall over on their faces. The race actually is between their feet and the leaning body. We didn’t see any fall, so they are well-built for this tactic.

A few of the next boxes are close to the viewing area so we were able to watch the one greeting between parent and chick. As you might guess, the chick was hungry and demanding. Their desire for food is greater than the parent’s need to provide it. The little guy just has to wait impatiently for the parent to offer another gulp of food. The chicks are well cared for by both parents as they trade off each night. As one returns, the other leaves to stock up on more food.

After a few weeks the little one is ready to head off to sea and find its own food. At this point, the little one is on its own. The parent offers no training or help. Fortunately for the chick, at this point in its life it is about 20% heavier than the parent. This extra weight gives it some extra time to learn how to fend for itself in the open waters. Still over half of them won’t make it to their first birthday.

Because the normal clutch is two chicks and they breed for several years, the colony still has a chance to grow as long as the food holds out and their habitat is protected from predators and development. Development is much better controlled now as communities realize the economic benefit from tourists like us who stop because we want to see these cute little guys. After all, when the viewing takes place after dark, people have to spend the night in town helping to fill the hotels and restaurants. Protection from predators can be more difficult, but poisons, traps, and fences limit the pests even if they don’t eliminate them completely.

Adults also have one period where they are really in danger. They molt, or replace all their feathers once a year. This takes about 18 days during which they are stuck on land with no opportunity to feed. They must fatten up to make it through this period.

On our walk back to the visitor center we had several more close-up views as some nests are right next to the boardwalk. As at Phillip Island no pictures are allowed because too many of us humans can’t or won’t follow the rules and turn off the flash mode on their cameras. We understand and actually enjoy the time more without thinking about taking pictures.