Little Blue Penguin Nest Box, Napier Port Live Cam

A camera inside a nest box at the kororā sanctuary of Napier Port in Hawke's Bay looks down on little blue penguins resting on dry grass. The infrared picture is black and white by day and by night.

Napier Port built the sanctuary on former log storage land when the rock wall where the birds nested was taken apart for the new 6 Wharf. Local school pupils, Māori hapū and port staff made the nest boxes, and a ramp leads up from the sea. The site is closed to the public and free of dogs and cats. About 90 breeding pairs of kororā, the smallest penguins in the world, nest at the port.

The lens sits high in one corner of the box and looks across the straw to the back wall, where a strip of daylight shows under the lid. By day one adult often lies on the nest, while after dark two birds can crowd into the box.