During two hours of observations aboard a fishing trawler on 1 July 2011 assumed oil-stained Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris were recorded by Graham Parker at 45° 01'S, 60° 41'W on the high seas in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Of the approximately 500 Black-browed Albatrosses present around the vessel, a minimum of 11 oil-stained individuals were recorded as being distinctly marked.  In the worst case the entire breast of the bird was darkly covered in oil, and in the least affected just a few marks were present around the neck and head regions.

There were a large number of Southern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea epomophora and Kelp Gulls Larus dominicanus present but no oil stains were observed on either species.  No oiled-stained giant petrels Macronectes spp., White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis or Cape Petrels Daption capense were observed of these largely dark-coloured species.  No oil was present in the water around the fishing vessel.

Oiled Black-browed (and other) albatrosses are occasionally seen at breeding colonies in the South Atlantic in small numbers, but sightings at sea appear rare.

Reference:

Huin, N. & Croxall, J.P. 1996.  Fishing gear, oil and marine debris associated with seabirds at Bird Island, South Georgia, during 1993/1994.  Marine Ornithology 24: 19-22.

With thanks to Graham Parker, Richard Phillips and Anton Wolfaardt for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 July 2011