Timaru Penguins

23/10/2025

An interesting video and the future of ALL Penguins around the world

08/10/2025

On your travels down the west coast of NZ, remember to make time for a stop in Franz Joseph. Enjoy.

The rescued penguins can't be released back into the wild, but they're about to get a new life at Franz Josef later this month.

13/09/2025

Peter Penguin is running for Mayor! Feel free to show me your support by liking or following my page. Thanks so much!

Peter George Bennett for Council

12/08/2024

We are only guardians of all the wildlife on this earth. They were here before us and will still be here long after we have gone. However, on our journey of life. like us, they also need our help so they'll still be here for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.""

01/08/2023

A big congratulations to Oamaru Blue Penguins, the council and the supporters in the community who had the vision 30 years ago to see the benefits of a Blue Penguin colony becoming a tourist attraction for their town. Over 300 breeding pairs, 75,000 visitors a year before Covid and now with the borders open, set to increase numbers annually as a South Island destination.

16/02/2023

Pleased to support Seaweek at the Eco-centre

19/10/2022

Hi Penguin Lovers. Oamaru nest camera.

03/10/2022

Pleased to see Oamaru has plenty of activity. After last weekend, Friday & Saturday night, we do have nesting pairs, not too many, and no sound of chicks yet. Hopefully the heavy seas middle of this week won't upset their need to bring home food every night.

Approximately 5 weeks ago, the majority of the penguins decided it was time to lay eggs. This meant that last week the eggs all began hatching at once, and we went from 61 chicks in the colony to 268! In the next couple of weeks there will be another 80 or so chicks hatch. Our monitoring team has a busy couple of months ahead, weighing a sample of chicks and then microchipping them all so we can track their survival after they fledge.

21/09/2022

Hi All. We had a penguin a few years ago visited us over two xmas periods. Caught him the second year and sent the tag details to DOC. He was identified as a young male from Oamaru born 2016. Haven't seen him since so I guess he went back home to Oamaru. Didn't pay his motel bill while he was staying in Timaru :)

For years the method of marking individual penguins was using flipper bands. While they were very effective and a good method, we gradually phased them out and now we microchip the penguins. We removed all flipper bands in 2018 and aimed to have a fully microchipped population, but we still have the occasional one turn up with a band! This penguin comes in regularly and disappears through a different path, probably breeding somewhere behind the colony. We see it on our livestream and have even been able to read the band number by zooming the camera in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DnxjHOQrBU

31/08/2022

Well. Full steam ahead in Oamaru. I have some nests active. Not sure about eggs or chicks yet. Been slow at returning this season.

24/08/2022

WOW. Oamaru underway and getting very busy quickly. Sadly. I can't say the same for Timaru. Not as busy as last year at this time. Late starters after the heavy seas I suspect.

14/08/2022

The White Flippered Penguin. Unique to the Canterbury coastline. Banks Peninsula up to Motunau Island. We do see some around Timaru, not generally at Caroline Bay.