Blue Penguin Colony

Only 30 minutes from The Hills Homestead

The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony provides you with the perfect opportunity to watch blue penguins as they return from a busy day at sea. You will see them arrive on the beach, climb the steep rocks and make their way inland to their burrows. All this, 5 minutes from the town centre by car. The blue penguins scientific name is Eudyprula minor, the Maori name is Korora.

Other names they are known are Little or Fairy penguin. They live around the coasts of New Zealand and southern Australia. They stand about 25cm (10in) tall, with an average weight of about 1.0 kg. The blue penguin is the smallest of the world's 17 species of penguin, with an average life span of about eight years.
 

Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere. The plumage is indigo blue above and satin white below. The bill is dark and eyes pale grey, and the feet are webbed. The sexes are alike, but the male has a larger bill. Blue penguins hunt from dawn to dusk, up to 2Okm out to sea, feeding on small fish and squid.Non breeding juveniles may spend a lot longer away, up to months at a time. Blue penguins begin breeding at 2-3 years of age and usually mate for life.

In Oamaru, the main breeding season is July to March, but the first of the two eggs can appear as early as May. oamaru birds may raise two families in one season but elsewhere, one is more usual. Both parents share the 36 days of incubation, and feeding of the chicks, which are in the nest for 8 weeks after hatching.

When the breeding season ends, the adult birds, prepare themselves by spending some time at sea feeding and putting on a lot of weight. They come ashore and stay for about two and a half weeks, to moult. This involves a total replacement of all feathers, this is a very stressful time for them. After the annual moult, they return to sea to feed and regain condition.

OAMARU BIRDS.

Oamaru is the easiest place in NZ for people to see good numbers of blue penguins close and view them. The local penguin population is approximately 3,000 birds and growing steadily. They nest throughout the harbour area and coastline. Since the natural nesting site is a burrow or any kind of hole, blue penguins use the nest boxes provided by the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, which is well lit for easy viewing.

PENGUIN CARE AND RESEARCH IN OAMARU.

Colony staff monitor arrival times and numbers of birds every evening of the year. There is also a weekly check of all nest boxes, birds are identified by the number on their flipper band. Banding is constant throughout the year, and by this means population numbers can be monitored, individual life and family histories followed.

During the breeding season weekly weighing checks the progress of each chick, which is banded before it leaves the nest. By this method it is clear the nightly viewing has caused no adverse impact upon the colony.The population has been steadily growing since observation began, in 1993. It is not known just how long blue penguins have been in the North Otago (Oamaru), area, but fossil records of other penguin species up to 34 million years old, plus 2 million year old fossils have also been found in the area.

Blue Penguins predators at sea are the sea lions, leopard seals, sharks and orca, fortunately they are uncommon along the Oamaru Coast. On land, introduced ferrets and stoats are a major threat for adult birds with cats and rats for chick and eggs. Dogs can be a problem and in this urban environment, penguins are often run over by cars and trains.

The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony is situated in an old quarry that supplied the rock for much of the Oamaru Harbour. Blue Penguins colonised the quarry area after it ceased to operate, and since 1993, the area has been managed for the penguins.

VIEWING INFORMATION.

The Penguins may be viewed every day at nightfall, when they return from the sea.They form groups (rafts) out at sea and wait for dark before landing on the beach.Climbing the steep sea wall, pausing to preen before heading inland to their nest sites within the colony. The time of arrival on shore varies with the season.