Little blue penguins, kororā, have been out at sea feeding on small fish and fattening up.

But now it is time to start coming ashore prior to nesting. One couple were filmed as they checked out the real estate at Ti Point.

There were various holes amongst the boulders that they explored. It will be interesting to see if they return to the same place as last year.

Our coastline is a great place for penguins to nest. They love rocky shores where there are numerous caves and spaces between the boulders.

They also love areas below pohutukawa roots where they can get some shelter.

Since our project began they have chosen some very colourful real estate - penguin nesting boxes painted bright colours by Leigh School children. It is very rare for us to see penguins, but we look for signs that they are about.

Footprints on the beach, guano near burrows and videos from our cameras. When they come ashore they will usually greet their partner with a very loud donkey braying sound. They'll begin making nests by carrying leaves and twigs into their choice of burrow and after mating they will begin the next cycle of laying eggs.

It's going to take them about 36 days to incubate their eggs. That is when their real work begins as they head out to bring back food for their chicks. As the chicks grow they get more demanding and the parents are kept pretty busy going back and forth from the sea.

To see some awesome videos of our local kororā go to our LeighPenguinProject facebook page https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=leigh%20penguin% 20project, or Leigh Penguin Project instagram.

*Author: Jenny Enderby for Leigh Rag. Reposted with permission.

[email protected]