Now that I have been home for a bit, I've had a chance to reflect on my amazing experience in South Africa. It's still bittersweet at this point: I'm happy to be home but would LOVE the chance to go back to Cape Town and the penguins I miss so much!

Pair hanging out (photo by Jake Levenson)

I've settled back into my regular routine which has allowed me to plug through my 1,300 picture! Some of my favorites are of the penguins that can be seen at Boulders Beach, one of two mainland colonies of African penguins. Boulders is unique in that visitors to the colony can get up close to these birds, both along a boardwalk that has people visiting restricted-access nesting areas as well as part of the beach where penguins and humans can intermingle freely! Yup, you could walk right up to a penguin and snap some pictures!



Good advice before walking onto the beach!



 

Sun for people, shade for penguins

Always educating! (photo by Jake Levenson)

I was able to see lots of penguins, both on the beach itself as well as in the upland area where they rest and have their nests. It was so surreal to see these birds among the trees tucked in between roots and shrubs!
 

How many penguins can you find?


   

Penguins live in trees?

   
Back on the beach, penguins were everywhere! You would find them resting near boulders, on top of boulders, swimming in the water, everywhere! It was hard to remember that these animals are endangered with so many of them around. They didn't seem to mind when you got closer to take some pictures, but they didn't hesitate to give you a stare down when you did get to close for comfort!


Someone is pretty excited...

 While walking through the group, I did see some penguins with metal bracelets. It's possible that these birds had seen some time at SANCCOB, which will band chicks after rehabilitation and before they are released. It helps scientists track the birds after release to see how they are doing. If this bird was a SANCCOB bird, it seems to be doing well, even finding a mate!


A pair of penguins, one banded


Being able to come back to Boulders and observe the penguins helped me feel like the trip came full circle. Having previously released SANCCOB birds at this location and seeing how the wild birds were able to take full advantage of this site gave me a bit of hope for the species. I don't know what the future holds for the African penguin and the Boulders colony, but I do know I am thankful for doing my part to help this species and for SANCCOB and others that work hard to do so as well. I hope that many generations can visit Boulders to see these amazing animals and am glad that I got to witness it first hand! [Another Aquarium educator visited Boulders Beach in 2010 as well.]

On top of the boulders at Boulders (photo by Jake Levenson)

-Jo

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Penguin Chick Bolstering Project.

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard was also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experiences on the Penguin Blog. 

There has been a lot happening at SANCCOB lately. Penguins have been released, new penguins have been brought in for treatment, the daily hustle and bustle to keep things running for the many African penguins and chicks on site.



But the SANCCOB crew took time out on Friday to celebrate their new building!

New Building!!!

New Chick Rearing Unit

The new Chick Rearing Unit had its grand opening Friday afternoon. Having been thought about for years and built over the past several months, this new building will continue to help SANCCOB in its chick bolstering efforts. With dedicated volunteers working around the clock for the past several years, SANCCOB has managed to raise (and release) close to 2000 African penguin chicks. And what’s even better is that research has shown that these chicks do better at surviving once released than their non-SANCCOB counterparts. So this new chick rearing unit is a big deal!

Ready to cut the red ribbon

With the new building, SANCCOB will be about to ramp up their bolstering efforts and have more chicks come through their doors. With a new incubation room, young chicks (and even eggs) can be incubated, new warming beds ensure older birds will be comfortable and scales will make sure that the chicks are putting on weight (like our chicks do back at the Aquarium!) as they should.

Incubation room

Warming beds

With its own set of supplies, washing machines and food prepping areas, this new building is separate entity, important for making sure that no cross-contamination happens between different groups of birds. However, it could not be more central to SANCCOB’s mission of helping abandoned seabirds and their African penguin chick bolstering program. There are a few more finishing touches that have to happen before the building is fully operational, but I know that the staff is very excited to start this new chapter. So congratulations to SANCCOB and here’s to a future of many successfully raised chicks!

Prep area

Nice accommodations-five stars!

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Chick Bolstering Project.

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog.

As many people I know are sitting down and giving thanks on this Thanksgiving, I found myself sitting in the back of a pickup truck with five boxes traveling down the highway. I was hanging out with a bunch of birds, only they weren’t turkeys.

Anyone bring the directions?

Precious cargo aboard!

Today I had the opportunity to help release some African penguins that had spent time at SANCCOB. Many of the nine penguins released were birds that had been abandoned by hungry parents and were fortunately brought to the center. The staff and volunteers (including me!) have been nursing them back to health and today they would make their grand return to the sea.

Before they could go, each bird had their numbered tag removed, was weighed and measured then painted with a bright pink dot. This paint, which will only stay on for a couple of months, identifies this bird as one that has been rescued and released.

Pink bellies for easy ID

Once everyone was packed up and ready to go, we headed south to Simon’s Town, famous for its Boulder’s Beach. There is a rare mainland breeding colony here and where four of our birds, coincidentally, were rescued. So it was fitting that on a bright sunny day we would be bringing them home.

Our destination

We arrived at the beach, got the boxes set on the sand, managed to keep the excited on-lookers at bay and then released the birds. Some of them were a bit resistant to leaving the boxes but after a bit of a shake, the penguins were out of the boxes and headed to the sea. Fortunately for the younger birds, there was an adult with them and after the younger birds watched the adult make a beeline for the water, they quickly followed. The group swam off together around the bend and after climbing to the top of the cliff, we could see the ground headed towards the open part of the bay.

Out of the boxes

Ready to hit the water

It’s hard to know what the fate of these penguins will be. I hope that they do well, settle in Boulders and grow to have chicks of their own. I know it’s an uphill battle but thankfully SANCCOB is there to help these animals when they need it. I’m also thankful that I got to be a part of that experience today. After feeding and taking care of these birds for the past week and half, it’s fantastic to see them swim in the open. I know that SANCCOB has many more chicks to bolster and more birds to rehabilitate. But at least nine penguins are back where they belong thanks to SANCCOB. And for that, I am thankful.

Home at last

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Chick Bolstering Project. 

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog.

My last post revolved around the non-penguin birds that were housed at SANCCOB. As I mentioned before, SANCCOB does more than help penguins. They are committed to rehabilitating all seabirds that can be found in South Africa and have seen a diverse number of species in 2011. Well, who knew that I would be getting up close to some of those birds today!

Hartlaub's gulls. The one on the right is being rehabilitated.

I spent my second Monday working in Pen 1 and the Aviary. Unlike penguins, there are lots of seabirds that can fly! These birds receive special accommodations that allow them to stretch their wings but not fly away until they are ready. My volunteer mentor Hannah and I had the pleasure of taking care of a couple of Hartlaub’s gulls and three Kelp gulls. Both species can be found in the Cape Town area and have been rehabilitated by SANCCOB before.

Pen 1. You can see a bird in the bottom left corner.

The Hartlaub’s gulls, which reside in Pen 1, were pretty small but quick, which proved to be challenging when we had to catch one to give it medication throughout the day. Though they were skittish when we were in the pen with them, they were more than happy to settle down and eat a whole dish of chopped fish.

Chopped fish. Pretty self-explanatory

In the larger aviary, 3 Kelp gulls were recovering. The area was a little bit more spacious than Pen 1, letting this larger species have a bit more room. In addition to a swimming pool, the aviary has a partition about 4 feet off the ground. The staff can start to assess if the bird is feeling better by whether or not the birds can fly off the ground up to the partition. If they can do that, they are close to release! I’m pleased to report the two larger Kelp gulls were happy to fly out of our way while cleaning. Could release be around the corner? Time will tell.

Kelp gulls. Can you tell which one is a juvenile? A hint...it's the one on the left...

Due to their larger size, the food of choice for the Kelp Gulls is a bit greater in scale. A menu item that is quite popular throughout SANCCOB is known as “fish tails”. The heads of the fish are removed (they are hard to eat and digest for some recovering birds), the remaining tails are sprinkled with vitamin powder and a saline solution and arranged delicately on a platter. Quite the spread!

Before...

...and after. Lunch time!

So yet another day of learning for me at SANCCOB. It was great to work with a couple of different species and to see how SANCCOB spreads its wings to help seabirds in addition to penguins. Who knows what the future will hold for these birds but for now they are in great hands!

It is Saturday afternoon here in South Africa. It’s hard to believe that I have been here for one week already: time is flying by…guess I must be having fun! SANCCOB has been an amazing experience so far. I can’t believe how much I am learning about penguin husbandry, the ups and downs of a rescue center and penguin stuff in general. It doesn’t hurt that I’m traveling with one of the Aquarium’s penguin experts either!

Speaking of the Aquarium’s penguin expert, Paul had to work today. Usually volunteers are given a weekend day off but because Paul is here at SANCCOB for such a short time, he is pulling double duty. Looks like they put him to work!

Paul hard at work

I on the other hand do have the day off. It was hot earlier this morning but has cooled down thanks to the ever present summer breezes. Between the temperate climate and the location, lots of different bird life to make its way to South Africa's southern coast. And while many associate SANCCOB with rescuing African penguins, they are committed to helping all sea birds and have many different species at the center (the COB stands for “Coastal Birds”).

As each bird comes to SANCCOB, the staff identifies the species and then gives it a unique code to track it while it’s at the center. Usually it is a simple abbreviation of its name and a number. This way they can also track the number of times that type of bird has come through SANCCOB in one given year. So far, they are up to 408 African penguins and lots and lots of other species!

List of birds that have come through SANCCOB

As with the African penguins, the goal is to release these animals back into the wild. Just Tuesday, SANCCOB released a giant petrel back to the ocean. It was quite the accomplishment-most giant petrels do not survive even a few days in rescue centers. But SANCCOB kept the bird for a month, rehabilitated it and then released it. Amazing! But when one patient leaves, another one comes in. In the past couple of days, a gannet came in badly oiled and only time will tell what will happen. But fortunately he is in good hands at SANCCOB.

Oiled gannet resting-look in the middle of the back and you can see a blue eye

What the gannet should look like...

In addition to the gannet, there are several gulls, terns and cormorants  here. There is even a rockhopper penguin that washed up on the beach of South Africa, a far way from home (more on Rocky in the future). Many are part of the permanent collection at SANCCOB due to their various lingering ailments or wayward travels. Some others will hopefully will be released soon. So it’s never a dull moment at SANCCOB—you never know what type of animal may walk through the door!

Gull resting poolside

Resting in the heat!

Cormorant checking out the sights

So it’s not entirely all about the African penguins here at SANCCOB. The staff and volunteers do a great job at taking care of all sorts of sea birds. Thank goodness!

SANCCOB...Rocky approved!

After packing up, two long flights, a lengthy layover at Heathrow and convincing a passport agent that while I was very excited to visit South Africa I would be returning to the U.S. at some point, I’m here! Though the forecast called for rain, my first day in Cape Town turned out to be sunny and gorgeous.

Sunny Cape Town

For those of you that need a geography refresher, Cape Town is on the western side, the Atlantic Ocean side, of South Africa. Because of the Atlantic Ocean influence, Cape Town is keep cooler that many parts of South Africa and the ocean temperatures are...well…cold. However, this makes it perfect for African penguins!

Cape Town on the left...Atlantic Ocean!

I have had many people ask me “how can penguins live in Africa when it’s so hot?” We do hear a lot about the Emperor penguin who use Antarctica as a nesting area or see commercials with penguins playing on ice bergs. Believe it or not, most penguin species do not live any where near Antarctica, the African penguin included. This temperate species can live with warmer air temperatures but like all penguins rely on cold water temperatures. These cold, oxygen rich waters bring lots of nutrients to the party and before you know it, the food web has exploded! And it all boils down to lots fish which means lots of food for penguins. And that’s why we’re here…penguins.

Sardines-yum!

Now while I’ve arrived, there is one more Aquarium employee who is currently making the trek to South Africa. Paul Leonard is part of the penguin husbandry staff and one of those responsible for the daily goings-on in our penguin exhibit. He’ll also be working at SANCCOB where his expertise in everything penguin will be well received (check out the blog on his experience here). Once he arrives, we have only one day to get acclimated and settled before we show up for our first day of work. So no rest for the weary! It will be a few busy days ahead but ones that make me excited with the endless possibilities ahead!

Learn more about the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCCOB and their Chick Bolstering Project. 

Follow the adventures of Jo's co-worker, Paul! Aquarium penguin biologist Paul Leonard is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog.