April 25, 2021 - World Penguin Day

Today is World Penguin Day, and that reminded me of my only experience with wild Penguins. Diana and I took a trip to New Zealand ten years ago. During that trip, we took a tour on some private land to see Yellow-eyed Penguins. The Penguins spend the day at sea but come back on shore for the night. It was getting dark when we finally saw some Penguins coming ashore.

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Yellow-eyed Penguins are one of the rarest Penguin species in the world. I saw one estimate that there were only between 3200 and 3600 of them left in 2017. They are only found on the south island of New Zealand and a few sub-Antarctic islands. They stand 24 to 31 inches tall and are the only Penguins with yellow eyes.

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One Penguin walked right past us and I was able to get some nice photos of it. You can get a good look at the yellow eye in this photo.

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It then continued past us on its way up the hill.

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Most Penguin species build their nests in large colonies. Yellow-eyed Penguins prefer to nest by themselves. They build a nest in the tall grass or in the shrubby forest. The site is carefully chosen so it can’t be seen by other Penguins. Two eggs are laid, usually in September.

To see the rest of my New Zealand photos, click on this link to my “Trips” web page. https://www.earlorfphotos.com/Trips

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