Source: Radio New Zealand
A Taranaki family has paused a bach rebuild due to nesting kororā. Ngati Mutunga
A Taranaki family has paused work on the rebuild of their coastal bach, after a pair of nesting little blue penguins – or kororā – took up residence beneath its floorboards.
The Vile family, who are redeveloping a classic two-bedroom bach at Urenui Beach, are now patiently waiting for a chick to fledge.
Scott Vile, who’s owned his Urenui bach for about five years, knew he’d have to pause his summer renovation plans, when he discovered a penguin incubating an egg.
“Basically, I lifted a piece of chipboard there and they weren’t under there when I started in October, so me being me, I just went for it.
“Then my curiosity caught me out and I checked again on a Sunday, before I went to leave, and hello, there was a penguin sitting on an egg just nesting away, so I quickly made the phone call and got some help really.”
Coromandel couple Tracey and Peter Kendall told Morning Report on Friday they were at their wits ends, after their resident rowdy penguins migrated underneath their bedroom – keeping them up at nights.
Scott and wife Natalie were more relaxed about his find – they contacted the Department of Conservation and put the project on hold.
Scott Vile and Anne-Maree McKay search for the kororā chick. Robin Martin/RNZ
“Basically, we’re waiting for the penguin to fledge, so it will leave and go to sea, and once it’s fledged, we can continue on with the project and carry on.”
The timeframe was open-ended.
“Oh, it is just what it is. We’re pretty cruisy and, once we’re allowed to start, we’ll get in and begin chipping away at it.”
Scott said the bach had a history of penguins nesting under the floorboards and, at one stage, had a perspex viewing hatch in the floor.
“Late at night, they scoot out to sea, and they come back in when we’re having BBQs and a few drinks at night, and you can see them come back in.
“Kinda like little drunken sailors, they come in and hit their heads on the floorboards, ‘Donk, donk, donk’ you can hear them as they get back to their home.
“It’s just living in harmony really, just both us in the bach and them under the floor.”
Scott said the couple’s children, Bentley and Jordan, were thrilled by the discovery of the nest.
“We’ve been amazed by how fast the chick has grown. It’s been pretty cool to watch them grow.”
Scott Vile and Anne-Maree McKay search for the kororā chick. Robin Martin/RNZ
DOC tipped off Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga Pou Taiao about the penguin discovery.
“We actually all met here and had a look, and sure enough, there were a couple of little fuzz balls under the deck there. It was just really awesome, and we’re so grateful for Scott and his whānau for just being so accommodating of them, and willing to put their summer time on pause for us and the kororā.”
McKay helped monitor kororā for a joint Ngāti Mutunga – Ngā Motu Marine Reserve Society project.
“There’s been kororā around this coastline for as long as I can remember and, from the stories I’ve heard, they’ve been around for generations now.
“We have two areas that we monitor closely – Wai-iti and here at Urenui – and there are plenty of kororā coming and going.”
McKay expected the Vile family could soon get back to work.
“We actually microchipped this penguin on Monday, so it had shed enough of its fluff, of its down feathers to be chipped. It should only be a couple of weeks now, [before it fledged], I imagine.”
Meanwhile, Scott Vile wasn’t worried about penguins causing him to lose sleep.
“We first encountered them up the coast at Wai-iti, so we’re pretty used to them and I sleep like a rock anyway, so they’ve never bothered me.
“Like I say, we just live together harmoniously. They come and go as they please, and we do the same, so it’s always been a good little relationship.
“We just need them to leave for a couple of months, so I can build a bach and then they can come back.”
DOC Taranaki principal operations advisor Kelby Clements said the Vile family’s decision to pause their project for the penguins’ benefit was “naturing at its best”.
“This is a great example of how small acts of naturing make a difference to protecting our precious native species.
“By pausing their project, Scott and his family have made a real difference to this little family of kororā, and that will contribute to our understanding of the species’ local population.”
There were originally two kororā – which were the world’s smallest penguin species – under the Vile’s bach, but one did not survive.
Clements said little blue penguin populations had been declining where they were not protected from predators and threats to the birds increase where there was human development in coastal areas.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
