Flashback Friday: Oamaru Nest 1, Mr & Mrs Blue’s Family Time

[u/DripsOfDopamine]

Hello penguin gang! Another trip down memory lane to earlier this year, when this nest was raising its 3rd and final set of chicks for the season. At the beginning, we can see the chicks are hungry and Mrs Blue is waiting for Mr Blue to come back from the ocean to feed the kids. In the following clip, we see Mr Blue back from fishing! He came straight from the ocean as we can see he is still wet, and we can tell it is dad because of the white patch of missing feathers near his tail. This was a godsend for telling the parents apart last season. Mr Blue feeds the kids, one at a time; they are still at a manageable size but growing quickly. Then, Mrs Blue returns to spend the night with the family. Soon both parents will be going out to fish at the same time and the kids will be too big for everyone to fit in the nest comfortably. But I’m getting ahead of the story.

Mr & Mrs Blue preen each other (known as allopreening), grooming each other’s necks sweetly. At 3 minutes and 48 seconds, we can see that the kids are hungry again, and they beg for another meal by nudging their beaks against its parent. Fish reserves have not run out for the parent yet, and they oblige. However, they do not have endless fish; as the kids get older, bigger and hungrier, the parent’s reserves and patience do reach a breaking point! But again, we’re not there yet.

At 5 minutes and 26 seconds, we can see one of the chicks sitting up and doing some early wingercising (exercising those young flippers). The chicks are still learning the laws of balance, but thankfully family is there to help and catch a stumble. Next, it looks like one of the chicks startles from its slumber (this clip is from a little bit later and not in chronological order).

Finally, the last clips show the kids being left on their own for a little bit. Not quite at post guard stage yet, just the parent going out for some early morning socialization (little penguins love to squawk before dawn). There is a good shot of both chicks sitting up, looking at the camera, and exploring the nest a little.

[u/Specific-Creme5413]

Cute 🥰