Blue Mirage

While on our marine life viewing tour in New Zealand, we were told we might have the opportunity to see the smallest penguin in the world. Little Blue Penguins or little penguins, live up to their name, they are at most 13 inches tall, that is just taller than a foot. As we sailed in the Pacific Ocean looking for wildlife we found dolphin pretty easily, a minke whale and several species of flying seabird. I snapped away feverishly to capture as much sea life as I could.

On several occasions I caught glimpses of this bird, thing, diving from the surface of the water as our boat passed. I even managed to capture some photos, but from the tiny screen on the back of my camera, I couldn't tell what they were. Finally I got the picture, at the top of this post and was convinced I had captured an image of a Little Blue Penguin. Though admittedly it is not the greatest, I was still excited I saw one and got a photo.

I showed Cory, however, and he called me crazy. He called me delusional. He said that what I had here was just a weird looking sea gull or tern or whatever. To be fair he was looking at the back screen of my camera too. He insisted that if there were penguins in the water as the boat passed he would have seen it in his binoculars or looking out on the water, because, "he had better eyes than I did."

At first he began to convince me that I was mistaken. But then I kept seeing these birds and comparing them with the other bird images I had been capturing. I wasn't sure Cory knew what he was talking about. Finally, I decided that he and I would ask the tour guides and marine biologists on board and......they confirmed, I was right I had captured an image of a Little Blue Penguin. I was now doubly excited to have the image but also to be right!

I wish I could have gotten better pictures. I hope one day to go back to New Zealand and photograph these small penguins as well as the other 12 species of Penguin that are known to frequent New Zealand. Also I want to give Cory the chance to SEE one in the wild. He still hasn't seen one.

Can you find the Penguin in this image?

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