It can be a hard life for little blue penguins/kororā. This year we think has been particularly difficult for them. During July there was a huge amount of rain and some nesting sites were underwater or had water and debris flowing through them. The displaced penguins needed to find alternative nesting sites and some may have started nesting later.

Since 1999 we have recorded rainfall at Leigh. This year our records show that 2022 is the wettest year since our records began with over 1850mm so far and we are only half way through December. To make life more difficult for penguins this year, storms coinciding with penguin fledging made it hard for young birds to find food. They’ve had to survive five metre waves, plus sediment runoff discolouring the water, making it hard for penguins to see their prey underwater.

If you have seen dead penguins washed up and they are very blue, this indicates they are probably juvenile birds. No signs of injury have been recorded on most dead penguins found, a sign that they probably starved.

If you see a dead penguin between Ti Point and Goat Island we are keen to record the whereabouts and this can be done by emailing us.

We hope the large number of dead birds means more have fledged. Continued monitoring will give more of an idea of surviving numbers in our area.

While there is not a lot we can directly do to help penguins out at sea, we can help when they come ashore by reducing their predators by trapping. If dog owners keep dogs on a leash when out walking and cat owners keep cats inside at night this will also help.

*Author: Jenny Enderby for Leigh Rag. Reposted with permission. [email protected]