Chicks! And Pictures!

These are the chicks I've been working with for the last couple of days. It was about 95 degrees in the sun this day, so they are some seriously hot chicks. 

Ah! There's so much to write about! Firstly, I absolutely love South Africa and working with the penguins. I've completely gotten past my initial trepidation and feel super comfortable with the birds. I'm starting to get their schedules down, which is a big triumph because there is ALWAYS something that needs doing. In mastering that, I feel like you get a totally different feel for the place, and it doesn't feel like such a mad house. 

I've spent the last 3 days of work in Pen 2 and with the chicks. It's been a ton of fun, despite it being insanely hot. You work in oilskins - big, plastic coveralls - that don't let any air in, so by the end of the days my jeans feel like they came out of the washing machine. Drenched with sweat. Totally gross, I know.

I won't spend a lot of time typing about what I've been up to - I'd rather post a bunch of photos. So here goes!

 

Looking sweaty and gross in Pen 10

Affectionately refer to this guy at Chubs, or Tubbs. He's molting.

I LOVE this guy! 487 - he came in on Friday. He's got real moxy. He's definitely my favorite, even though he is NOT a big fan of me. Seconds after this photo was taken, he came very close to eating my fingers.

These are a couple of the chicks. They're almost blues (juveniles). You can tell because they're losing their fuzz and growing in real feathers. They're super soft to the touch and you have to wear special pants when you work with them, because they can't touch the oilskins. It damages their plumage. 
Two blues in Pen 10 pecking away at each other. I broke them up shortly after this photo.

The guys with the red bands are ready for release.

Okay, so that wasn't quite as many as I would've liked to post. I swear, I'll get the internet thing figured out soon enough. I will have another couple of posts soon, about baboons and shark diving!