February is a pretty drab month in the northern latitudes. Gray skies, cold winds and the chance of snow are the usual forecast with a possibility of seeing the sun...sometimes. It's hard to remember, when I'm dressed up in multiple layers, that it's warm, even hot, right now in Cape Town where summer is in full swing!

Good day for the beach!

It's also hard to remember that my journey to South Africa started a year ago! It was last February that the idea to travel to the land of the African penguin popped into my head, resulting in my application for the 2011 Cunningham Award. Applications, budgets and interviews later, I was given the chance to make that idea a reality along with a colleague. Many more months of planning, setting up my volunteer time with SANCCOB, searching for flights and travel logistics finally landed me on South African soil. A month and half of hard work rehabilitating penguins and it was back to Boston.


Things worth fighting for!



Two great organizations working together to save African penguins




It's been a crazy ride... and it's finally over. One year later I've experience my chance of a lifetime. There are lots of people to thank, including the New England Aquarium for supporting the professional growth and dreams of their staff through the Cunningham Award, my co-workers for helping cover my duties during my absence, the crew at Elements Lodge in Table View and the amazing South Africans I got to meet. But the ones that I'd like to thank the most? SANCCOB!


Lots of great volunteers ready to work!

To the staff and volunteers of SANCCOB, thank you from the bottom of my heart! You work hours on end, working to ensure that these animals have a fighting chance for a healthy future. The conditions are tough at times, both physically and emotionally, but you perserve all for the hope that an individual penguin can be returned to their ocean home. I appreciate the opportunity to join you in these efforts and hope that you continue your mission for many more years to come. And maybe, at some time in the future, I'll be able to join you again in your role to help the African penguin. Cheers!



Thank you!

No-thank you!

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 experience on the Penguin Blog. 

When it’s your last day at SANCCOB, many times you can request where you’d like to spend your day. Some people choose to work with the ICU birds, some choose to hang with the adults in Pen 2. Me? After working with them for a few days, I’ve totally fallen in love with the chicks. And that is where I got to spend my last day!

Chicks!

As usual at SANCCOB, the day started off with the tube feeding, medications and setting up chick living space for the day. Then things got a bit more chaotic! The SANCCOB veterinarian did her rounds throughout all the pens, weighing birds, looking at their overall appearance, checking their medical charts, adjusting medication and treatment plans. It’s something that’s done frequently and allows the staff to grade the medical condition of the birds.

Checking the health of the birds

Weighing birds. This one weighs 2.0 kilograms

After a close examination, birds from different areas got upgraded! Birds from the ICU came to the chicks area, some of the chicks went to Pen 2 with the big birds. And the two chick pens, the stronger birds and the smaller/”baldies,” were combined into one. Birds were being moved everywhere! And while that is good for the birds, it takes the staff and volunteers a while to sort out who went where and to make changes to medications and treatments that each individual bird receives. But eventually everything was sorted out and things went back to the regularly scheduled program!

Updating paperwork to track moving birds

It was a great last day that capped off a great last week. It’s nice to watch the chicks get bigger (one gained 500 grams in five days), become stronger and start to freely take fish from your hand during feeding time! And to know that the most of these birds were abandoned by hungry parents and have an excellent chance of being returned to the wild thanks to SANCCOB is awesome!

Feeding time

The day passed quickly as the schedule of feedings (my favorite part of the day) and tube feeding was complimented by swimming and resting time. Soon it was time for the last tube feeding of the day. Three of us worked together to make sure all of the birds got the nutrition that they needed. After feeding everyone and making sure all the birds were settled for the night, it was time to clean my oilskins for the last time. It was hard to process that it was my last time caring for the birds and I’m sure it will hit me tomorrow when I don’t have to go to work. But in the meantime, it’s off to download some more pictures and think about what lies ahead.

Tubing team! I'm the one in orange

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 is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog. 

Every workplace has its own cast of characters. The office jokester, the person who has the inside scoop, the workaholic, the guy who always offers to help, the person who manages to jam the copy machine every time. And at SANCCOB? The office character is 12-inches tall, demands three fish a day and honks if her demands aren’t met. Yup, it’s Rockie, the Northern rockhopper penguin!

The star takes a dip in the pool

Though SANCCOB rehabilitates mostly African penguins, they do on occasion get rockhopper penguins that have been found on local beaches. Rockhoppers are not normally found in South Africa. However, the Northern rockhopper does occur on a group of islands to the south. It is from these islands that folks theorize that the rockhoppers may come from. If they catch an ocean current and take a left instead of a right, they can end up in Cape Town.

It’s hard to say what Rockie’s origins are (and she doesn’t like to talk about the past) but the SANCCOB crew does know a little bit about her. She was admitted to SANCCOB in early 2009 after she was found on a beach near Cape Agulhas. She was able to be rehabilitated and is now approximately 4 years old (though she doesn’t like to talk about her age either). Her feathers are a bit ragged right now-she is getting ready to molt her feathers sometime in January!

A bad feather day?

Because she was rehabilitated at the center and there isn’t a way to release her back home, Rockie found a permanent home at SANCCOB. She is part of the resident population but she earns her keep! Rockie has been acclimated to people so that she can participate in educational programs! If school groups come to SANCCOB, Rockie is the star of the show. She is able to show the class how a penguin eats, how they walk and what they even sound like!

The star of the show!

Rockie is also a favorite penguin at SANCCOB. Many times she will be left to roam the hallways, a good way for her to get some exercise as she hops from area to area. You never know—you may be walking to tea break and find her directing traffic! But watch out as you are going through the swinging doors, you may run into a rockhopper!

Directing traffic

Penguins have the right of way!

As cute as she is, Rockie is a reminder of great rehabilitation and educational work that SANCCOB is involved in. She also is a reminder that, as with the African penguin, Northern rockhoppers are listed as endangered and are facing major issues, such as oil spills and over fishing, in the wild. Groups like SANCCOB are doing their part but we all need to do our part to make sure these animals are around for a long time. Want to know how to help out? Check out the Aquarium’s Live Blue page to see how simple things we do in our own lives can make a big impact on the lives of others. Rockie will thank you!

Have you done your part to live blue?

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 is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog. 

Good news keeps rolling in from SANCCOB. I recently posted that the badly oiled gannet had recovered enough to be washed for the first time.

Before cleaning

Most of the oil had been removed from his feathers but as the process is stressful, the SANCCOB crew had to leave the rest of the oil for another day. They needed to wait until the gannet regained his strength and then try to remove the rest of the oil.

Only few hours after posting that information, I received news that they would be cleaning the gannet again! He had recovered nicely from the first washing and the SANCCOB crew were ready to have another go at the oil. Good news indeed! Everyone sprung into action making sure that the cleaning stations were set up. Hot and cold rinsing water, washing tubs and cleaning solutions were organized and they were ready to go.

Washing station

After getting a good grip on the bird (they have extremely long, pointed beaks), the staff lowered the bird down into the warm sudsy water. The cleaning solutions that SANCCOB uses is a concoction of different soaps, emulsifiers and canola oil, of all things, to help lift the oil off the bird while being careful not to damage the feathers. The staff even used toothbrushes to get to those delicate areas such as the head.

Into the bath

Scrub a dub dub, there's a gannet in the tub!

After a couple of washings, the gannet was left to dry out in a separate pen with the help of a nice heat lamp. After a few hours, he was as good as new. Or certainly close to it! Not bad for a bird who was pretty close to death once upon a time. He’s now hanging out with a new gannet that has come into the center and hopefully will make a full recovery over the next few weeks. I won’t be here to see the gannet released but it’s been awesome to see his progress to this point. Another remarkable job by the remarkable people at SANCCOB!

After first cleaning

After final cleaning-he's the bird standing up!

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 is also in South Africa to study and care for African penguins in the Southern Hemisphere! Read about his experience on the Penguin Blog. 

It’s Monday and the start of another work week. Only this is my last work week at SANCCOB and for once in my life I wish that every day was Monday simply so the week won’t end! I can’t believe that three weeks have gone by already.

Thanks for hanging with us today!

Today I found myself back with the African penguin chicks that belong to the chick bolstering project. These are the birds that are healthy enough to be out of ICU but aren’t large enough or strong enough to hang with the big boys. Since I’ve worked there last, more chicks have arrived so the larger chick group has been broken up into two smaller groups. There are the larger chicks and then my group—the smaller birds and ones that have lost feathers…or the “baldies”.

My assignment for today

Before we could begin the regimen of feeding, cleaning, tube feeding, swimming and more cleaning, all of our birds had undergo their weekly blood draws. It sounds horrible but it’s a simple blood draw similar to the finger prick you get at the doctor’s office. A small blood sample is taken and then tested for things like blood cell counts, protein levels and examined for traces of parasites or diseases, such as malaria. Fortunately for the birds, the people that hold them and the people that have to get the blood sample, the whole process is done once a week on Monday mornings.

Blood samples

Next patient please

After we got a blood sample from the birds, it was on to swimming and feeding. Some of the birds would get a bit chilly after a short swim, but that’s because they don’t have any feathers! In the pen we have birds that have all or just about all of their waterproof feathers, some that still have a big patch of downy feathers and then some that have only a few feathers at all. (You can learn more about the stages of molting with these posts about the penguins back in Boston.) These are the “baldies”  and are bald due to a condition called feather loss disorder. The folks at SANCCOB and elsewhere are trying to figure out what is causing this particular affliction. Though it looks pretty devastating, the chicks do grow their feathers back in a couple of weeks and look good as new!

Waterproof feathers

Downy feathers

"Baldie" with feather loss disorder

In addition to seeing the blood draws for the first time and spending some time with the “baldies”, today was also my first day tube feeding. Talk about high pressure! Many of the chicks need additional hydration and nutrition throughout the day and tube feeding them is a big part of the SANCCOB daily schedule. So today was my day to learn. Wow. I thought feeding was intense-it’s got nothing on tubing! But after some patient mentoring by one of the experienced volunteers and a bit of practice, I managed to give a few penguin chicks their penguin Gatorade!

Feedings, learning to tube feed, making sure penguins swam okay, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Needless to say I’m a bit tired after my manic Monday filled with African penguin chicks.  Unfortunately, I won’t have any more manic Mondays but still have a few precious days at SANCCOB left. I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve been able to see so far and know that the my last few days at SANCCOB will be filled with new things to learn!

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. 

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.

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!