The most exciting day of the year here at the colony is the day the first eggs of the breeding season are laid. Leading up to the start of the breeding season, we eagerly await any signs of breeding. The numbers of penguins arriving are assessed, the quality of nests is observed, and during the weekly monitoring, the staff gently check under any penguin in hopes of glimpsing the first fresh white egg.
There is a lot of variation in when this first egg is laid though. Here at Ōamaru, there is a five-month window when first eggs may be laid. Under good conditions when there’s plenty of food at sea, eggs can be laid as early as May, in a poor year we may not see the first eggs until September. Until this season, the earliest eggs had been laid at the colony was the 2nd of May and the latest was the 30th of September, so there’s quite a range and it certainly keeps us on our toes!
However, 2025 is one for the record books, with the first eggs being laid on 18 April. Not only the earliest in Ōamaru but amongst the earliest for the country. After completing their moult a bit earlier at the beginning of 2025, Autumn brought high numbers of penguins arriving each evening and all were in great condition. Unfortunately, our early breeders haven’t had the easiest time, with two storm events affecting the sea conditions, disrupting breeding efforts. Feeding two hungry and demanding chicks is a hard enough job normally, but during storm events, where the ocean is murky and fish are hard to find, that job gets so much harder. Despite this, many of those early breeders managed to fledge chicks. This is great news for the colony, as early breeding increases the chances of double brooding. If penguin parents start early enough, they may lay a second clutch once their first chicks have fledged, taking advantage of favourable ocean conditions. Double brooding boosts breeding success and helps grow and strengthen the population overall.
Even with a few challenges, this record-breaking start has set the stage for what could be a remarkable breeding season, and hopefully with plenty of double brooders to boost the colony even further.