As yellow-eyed penguins have begun to enter the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony's rehabilitation facility, the crested penguins in care since February have all gone back to sea.
An erect-crested penguin - the last of four crested penguins taken into care at the Oamaru facility during the moult this year - was released from an Oamaru beach last week.
Three Fiordland crested penguins, or tawaki, had previously been released from Oamaru.
While last year a crested penguin was taken into care on March 7, Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew said she did not expect more crested penguins to turn up this year.
The erect-crested penguin this year was taken into the rehabilitation facility on February 20 weighing 5.12kg. Over the time it spent ashore losing then replacing its feathers, it lost roughly 1.5kg, leaving Oamaru weighing about 3.5kg.
The birds, endemic to southern New Zealand, breed on the Subantarctic Bounty and Antipodes Islands. This one was spotted by colony staff at Bushy Beach, but public awareness was an important part of getting the birds with distinctive yellow eyebrow stripes through the time of year when they were vulnerable to disturbance.
Members of the public spotted the three tawaki at Waterfront Rd, Friendly Bay and Kakanui this year.
And members of the public would continue to play a role as yellow-eyed penguins, perhaps underweight, not finding fish and struggling to feed themselves, or injured birds, could be "potentially turning up in all sorts of random places'' along the coast from now.
And the endangered yellow-eyed penguins were now moulting.
At least six yellow-eyed penguins were moulting in the Oamaru area at present, Dr Agnew said.
Further, rehabilitation facilities down the coast at three sites south of Oamaru were releasing fledgling yellow-eyed penguins taken into care after storms earlier in the species' breeding season hampered parents' abilities to feed their young.
As those birds were released they were likely to head north.
The first yellow-eyed penguin of the year was now in care at the Oamaru rehabilitation centre.
The bird, spotted by a member of the public on a Timaru beach, had superficial wounds on its feet, around its gut and on its tail.
It was taken to the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital before being transferred to Oamaru for rehabilitation.
"We'll get him fat enough that he can moult on his own,'' Dr Agnew said.
