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The little blue penguin once covered head-to-toe in oil from the spill in the Tauranga Harbour has been released back into its natural habitat this morning.

After six weeks under Oropi Native Bird Care Trust owner Chrissy Jefferson's wing ‘Mobil One' swam home to the rocks around Mauao in perfect conditions.

Chrissy Jefferson cleaned the spilled oil from the bird and released it at the Mount main beach. Photos Bruce Barnard.

Mobil One was the only penguin found oiled following an estimated 1.5 tonnes of oil leaking into the Tauranga Harbour on April 27.

Local iwi, tangata te whenua, Bay of Plenty Region Council and Department of Conservation gathered on the beach at the base of the Mount where the bird, and two other penguins, were released into the ocean.

He was aptly named Mobil One because Chrissy was expecting more penguins and planned to name them successively.

Mobil One was found badly oiled and in very poor condition in the estuary near Chapel Street.

He was taken in by Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre to be assessed before being taken to the sanctuary for rehabilitation.

Chrissy waited for 72 hours before attempting to wash the oil off him as it is a very stressful process for the birds.

'He was 100 per cent oil. There wasn't a feather on him that wasn't oil,” says Chrissy.

'He was in such poor condition and so thin because we think he had probably been oiled for about five days before he was picked up.”

Since then the bird has been living in the lap of luxury – hand-fed anchovies, and regular baths in Dawn dishwashing detergent imported from the US. Dawn dishwashing liquid did a better job than anything else following the 2011 Rena grounding, in which more than 400 penguins were oiled, says Chrissy.

He was the model patient, albeit cheeky, adds Chrissy.

'He was amazing, except for when her played hide and seek in his rock house when I was trying to feed him. He would go up the rock tunnels and my little arms aren't that long.

'It's always nice to see them go [back to the sea], but it is sad as they were part of the whanau for a few weeks now. He had no hesitation going in the water this morning, he wanted to go and was ready.”

Department of Conservation officer John Heaphy says Tauranga had been very lucky that there was so little impact on wildlife from the oil spill.

'The bird nesting season was over, the last of the migratory waders had left for the northern hemisphere and we had no fur seals, especially pups, in the harbour. They've just started arriving now. The weather also helped, because there was a 40 knot northerly on an incoming tide that day, which washed the oil straight down the harbour,” says John.

There were only three wildlife fatalities – two oiled shags and a grey faced petrel – during the spill.

'It could have been very different. Tauranga Moana wildlife dodged a potentially catastrophic bullet this time.”