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Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Breakfasts hosted to give support
PHOTO: NIC DUFF Oamaru had a tinge of pink yesterday. Fat Sally's Bar and Restaurant and Del Mar restaurant hosted Pink Ribbon Breakfasts to raise money for Breast Cancer Foundation NZ. More than 100 people in total dressed in their best pink outfit to attend the events. Among those at Fat Sally's are (from left) Leigh Petrie, Kelly Roger, Fiona Murdoch, Tracey Burgess, Marion Milmine and Gaynor Milmine. The amount raised was still being tallied.
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Experts share ideas on protecting penguins
Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew welcomed 113 attendees to the Oamaru Penguin Symposium last week. PHOTO: NIC DUFF More than 100 passionate penguin experts descended on Oamaru last week for the town's biggest Penguin Symposium. Held over two days, the 14th Oamaru Penguin Symposium attracted 113 people to the Oamaru Opera House. Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew said it was a chance to share ideas and engage in discussions about "how to better protect our penguins". "It's really cool hearing about the different ideas that people have and the projects that they're working on." People had come from all over the country. Guests included scientists, researchers, students and Department of Conservation staff. "It's a really great opportunity for everyone to get together when they don't see each other that often. "I just really look forward to catching up with people that I haven't seen for a while and just building those connections." The event is held every two years and began in the late 1990s. It started as the little penguin symposium and has since evolved to include all species of penguins. "We get the occasional talk that is about non-penguin seabird species." The penguin colony gave a talk on the first day during which staff member Beth Tremlett presented the initial findings from a project they began six months ago. They attached miniature video loggers to the penguins to learn more about what goes on when they are out at sea. "There's lots going on out there that we simply don't know about," Dr Agnew said. "It's really important for us to look at some of those impacts of turbidity and storm events and see what the sediment is doing throughout the season. "It's just another tool that helps us understand more about the penguins' lives." The attendees went to watch the penguin viewing at the penguin colony at the end of the first day. "A lot of them won't have been before. "It's great to share that with them."
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Find of early penguin eggs ‘really good news'
A little penguin has laid eggs in April at the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony for the first time. PHOTO: NIC DUFF A record has been set at the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. Two little penguin eggs were found on Wednesday. It was the first time the penguins had laid eggs in April at the colony and just the second time in New Zealand. Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew said the entire team was buzzing with excitement. "It's really good news because it means that, hopefully, it's going to be a really good season." Because there were two eggs and it typically took three or four days between laying, Dr Agnew estimated the first lay date was April 18. They typically laid eggs in the first week of July and the earliest the penguin colony had previously seen eggs laid was early May, she said. "To have eggs two weeks earlier than that is just really great." Laying eggs early means the penguins can have more later in the season. It was a stark contrast to last season, in which the penguins laid eggs later than usual, Dr Agnew said. "In the winter time, there was this continuously stormy weather that created a really poor marine environment, so there was lots of sediment and it was really murky." This contributed to the early laying this year. "That meant the penguins finished up the season quite early and they went in to the moult relatively early as well, so they were all in really good condition in autumn compared to last year." However, it was not all good news for the penguin colony as the team had needed to euthanise a penguin just before Easter after it was caught up in discarded fishing line. "It was picked up from Holmes Wharf and it had some fishing line tied quite high on its leg for a long time. "There was definitely infection in the flipper and infection in the other foot. He would've been in a really awful lot of pain. "We collectively agreed that the humane thing to do was to euthanise it, because they can't survive at sea with only one leg." It was important people took all rubbish with them as it tended to end up in the marine environment and cause damage to the penguins, she said. nic duff@
