Here are some difficulties, highlights and unexpected results from the autumn 2026 sample:
The samples from Leigh, Muriwai, Wellington, Kaiteriteri, West Coast, and Allans Beach all had good amounts of prey DNA in it, but it is difficult to get good samples in autumn because the penguins are ashore only sporadically and are not leaving much scat behind. Whilst there was some prey DNA in the samples from Nelson and Timaru, it was not very much, and the count was probably too low to be meaningful. The good news here is that the Kaiteriteri sample was good and that covers about the same foraging area as where the penguins living on Haulashore Island are likely foraging as well. The samples from Cape Sanctuary and the Catlins had almost no prey DNA and the sample from Tiritiri Matangi turned out to be from a kiwi. The group trying to find a sample at Moturiki did not succeed at all. So, overall, it is hard to get good samples for autumn, and we may skip autumn next year but add another spring sample to the collection as the penguins are usually breeding then and leaving good scat behind in the nests. 
Overall, Anchovies dominated the diet this autumn and there was very little Pilchard present anywhere. This is similar to last year for the West Coast South Island, Wellington and Tiritiri Matangi. The odd one out was Leigh that had a lot of Pilchard last year, but not this year. 
The sample from South Island West Coast had over a quarter of the prey sequences from Cololabis saira, the Pacific saury which is not supposed to occur in New Zealand waters but keep popping up around the country in the diet samples of kororā. 
The sample from Kaiteriteri has a high proportion of Blue mackerel which had not been recorded from there or from Nelson before. 
As usual the south-east coast of the South Island (Allans Beach) is a different planet: no pilchard, no sardines (Sprats or Pilchards) but Cockabullies with Barracouta last year and Grahame’s gudgeon this year.