There is no 'good' time for an oil spill to happen. But for the little blue penguins of Mount Maunganui this is breeding season, and the timing of the Rena oil spill in the Bay of Plenty could not have been much worse.

Locals put the number of breeding pairs of little blue penguins in the area at around 200 to 300. Their burrows are being monitored daily by the Oiled Wildlife Response Centre to help the birds survive this environmental disaster.

Whilst these nocturnal penguins may not appreciate such close attention as they incubate their eggs, the monitoring is crucial. The penguins come ashore during the evening to find their burrows, and many are becoming oiled crossing rocks covered in thick tar-like oil.

WWF staff Rebecca Bird and Bob Zuur have been part of the 140 field staff working in oiled wildlife recovery efforts. Around 120 little blue penguins have been rescued from the Mount so far, and their chances of survival are comparatively good - penguins are some of the most resilient birds in recovering from oil spills. But the team faces a tough choice - removing an oiled bird will give it a chance of survival, but it means its clutch won't survive.

Local conservation volunteer Dave Richards, who has worked tirelessly leading one of the oiled wildlife response unit's penguin recovery teams, said some of the penguins who had lost their mate were abandoning their nests: "They stay on their nests until they figure out their mate isn't coming back and eventually they'll go and feed."

He goes on to say, "I never thought - it's a relatively small amount of oil - and it's already had such a devastating impact on the penguins. It's just heartbreaking."