24 Sep 2022

Kororā will try to return to Shelly Bay nesting sites

7:22 pm on 24 September 2022
Kororā or little blue penguins, have been stopped from getting to nesting sites at Shelly Bay.

Kororā have been seen on the road trying to return to nesting sites. Photo: Supplied / Facebook

A penguin conservationist in Akaroa says people concerned about little blue penguins in Wellington need to take action themselves.

Kororā have recently been spotted on the road in Shelly Bay trying to get into a large building development site which had previously been where their nests were.

Shireen Helps, director of Pohatu Penguin Tours, said people needed to make sure a habitat was provided for the penguins, although that should have been done before the start of the breeding season.

She said the penguins would try to reach their nesting sites again and suggested putting in a tunnel, which had been done in Timaru.

"They funnel the penguins in through a gap underneath the fence and the penguins trot through there quite nicely," she said.

Helps said kororā couldn't be expected to use a tunnel without areas on either side that could funnel them in.

Earlier this week, work was halted on the controversial development after kororā re-entered the site through tampered fencing.

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