Rainy days

The past few days have been rainy and cool. We did go to Timaru but just stayed overnight. Headed then to Oamaru. This is the home to little blue penguins (the smallest ) and the yellow eyed (the rarest). We took a drive out into a very blustery night and stood on a headland hoping to spot a yellow eyed. Both of these penguins spend their days out at see and come in at night to roost with others and rest. The yellow eyed are the most anti-social and prefer to just be with the mate. The little blues congregate in colonies and socialize all night. It is rather noisy. We went to a spot where the blues do come ashore around 9pm. They asked us not to take pictures. They have put up yellow lights so the penguins cannot see us. About 90 came ashore in 1/2 hr. The trudged up the embankment, one scouted out whether to cross the then a bunch would scurry into the nesting area. The are only a meter tall and weigh 1 kilo. This is a juvenille yellow eyed and we are lucky to have seen it.