Geraldine on Sand Island, Midway Atoll in October 2024, photograph by Chris Forster

Everyone’s favourite couple, George and Geraldine, the sole breeding Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus pair on the USA’s Midway Atoll, have returned to Sand Island.

The Facebook page of the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has reported this month: “Chris Forster with Government Chugach Solutions sighted and then photographed Geraldine who appeared to be looking around to find her mate George but soon took off.  A few days later both Geraldine and her mate George were spotted by the wildlife cam”.

This will be the seventh breeding season for the famous pair, which to date has raised five chicks to fledging – some of which have been seen back on the atoll as juveniles, giving hope for more breeding pairs in time.

Access earlier articles in ACAP Latest News on previous breeding seasons from here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 23 October 2024

Waved Albatross by Shari Williams of ABUN for World Albatross Day 2020, after a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Gustavo  Jiménez-Uzcátegui (Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador) and colleagues have published in the open access journal Marine Ornithology on the absence of high pathogenicity avian influenza in Critically Endangered Waved Albatrosses Phoebastria irroratae.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is caused by the Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae species (type A, subtype H5N1), which has been detected in mammals (including humans) and marine birds in the Americas, including the Galápagos Islands. The Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata is a marine endemic species of Ecuador. Most of its breeding population nests on Española Island in the Galápagos Archipelago, and it forages at sea in the eastern South Pacific. This marine bird shares its feeding areas with the Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus, Peruvian Booby Sula variegata, Guanay Cormorant Leucocarbo bougainvillii, Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti, Sanderling Calidris alba, Belcher’s Gull Larus belcheri. These six species nest on the mainland of Ecuador and Peru; all have tested positive for HPAI H5N1, which has been particular concern to researchers. Therefore, we used a real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), to test for HPAI H5N1 in choana-tracheal and cloacal samples from Waved Albatross at the Punta Suárez and Punta Cevallos colonies on Española Island, which have been under investigation for more than two decades. None of the birds tested positive for HPAI H5N1. Despite negative results, it is important to implement preventive and precautionary measures to avoid the spread of this viral disease to the Galápagos Archipelago. Avian influenza can have a high impact on the isolated Galápagos Islands and, therefore, we must deeply understand the possible means of entry of this virus.”

Reference:

Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G., Vélez, A., Vega, P., Buendia, V., Montenegro-Benalcázar, V., Sevilla, C. & Cruz, M. 2024.  No evidence for high pathogenicity avian influenza in Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata.  Marine Ornithology 52: 349-353.

22 October 2024

The small city of Dunedin (pictured) on New Zealand's South Island will host the Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservaiton of Albatrosses and Petrels in May 2025; photograph by Nathan Hughes Hamilton

The Eighth Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MoP8) to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels will be held in Dunedin, New Zealand from Monday, 19 May to Friday, 23 May 2025.  

The Dunedin Leisure Lodge will serve as the venue for the week-long event, with a Heads of Delegation meeting scheduled for Sunday, 18 May 2025, in the late afternoon. 

Dunedin is home to the world's only mainland albatross colony, located only 30km from the city on the Otago Peninsula/Muaūpoko. Visitors are able to witness the magnificent Northern Royal Albatrosses by booking a tour through The Royal Albatross Centre.

Information on location, key dates, applications for observer status, accommodation and the provisional agenda. may be found in MoP8 Meeting Circular 1.  

The circular is available in French and Spanish and also includes a provisional agenda for the MoP.  

The latest Advisory Committee Report (AC14) is available at the ACAP website, here.

21 October 2024

Antipodean Albatrosses at sea, artwork by James Allan

Inspired by his photographs taken at sea, Australian artist, James Allan, has produced a linocut of two flying Antipodean Albatrosses Diomedea antipodensis.  The species, endemic to New Zealand, is categorized as globally Endangered, and Nationally Critical in New Zealand, and has been recognized as a Species of Special Concern by the Albatross and Petrel Agreement.  ACAP ACAP Latest News reached out to James, who lives in Adelaide Hills, South Australia, to learn more about his artwork, and about him.

James describes himself as an amateur artist, writing” I was taught lino printing in Grade 6 at school.  My teacher asked me to make prints in the art centre on the school open day. I have been largely self-taught since then, but have attended classes with the  Ruth Tuck Art School in the last few months.”

He describes the process he follows: “I usually draw the design on a piece of linoleum with a pencil and carve it out with a v-shaped chisel.  Larger white areas are removed with a u-shaped chisel. It helps to create textures to represent different tonal values.  Ink is applied with a rubber roller and paper is placed onto the inked lino and pressure applied.  At the printing school a large metal press is used.  At home I can press the paper with a metal spoon.  It is possible to cut several different lines to represent different colours  I often colour the print by applying a water colour wash., a bit like colouring in a colouring-in book.”

James continues: “The design of the two Antipodean Albatrosses was cut into vinyl.  This has slightly different properties to linoleum, being firmer and elastic. It is the largest print I have ever made at 30x40 cm.  A colour version was designed using Photoshop, but will be painted by hand when I do my final run.  The colours will vary from print to print.  The print can also be produced in black and white, and I think it looks very handsome without colour.”

Dorsal view.  Inspiration for the linocut, Antipodean Albatross at sea, 07 April 2024, photograph by Frances and James Allan

James, along with his wife Frances, joined a pelagic tour out of Port MacDonnell, South Australia run by David Harper. on 7 April 2024, the third they have attended.  “We were excited to see Buller's Albatross Thalassarche bulleri for the first time.  We met many excellent birders on the trip who were keen to teach us both about the pelagic birds we saw.  During the trip we both took photographed Antipodean Albatrosses quite close to the boat, flying in, circling and feeding on the water.  I was taken by the vermiculation of some of the adult birds and thought it would make a good design.”

Ventral view.  Inspiration for the linocut, Antipodean Albatross at sea, 07 April 2024, photograph by Frances and James Allan

He continues “I chose the flying albatross design as it conveyed the enormity of the birds we saw with their outstretched wings.  One albatross is seen from the dorsal aspect, the other ventral.  The waves and clouds are important elements and were also adapted from photos we took.  The final design is a collage of different photographs with a little bit of artistic licence.  I feel that it is always better to design the print than to merely reproduce exact detail from a photograph.  In lino designs you have a limited palate of line and texture, which means you need to learn to be more expressive with what you have.  One of the things that drew me to this medium in the first place, is that lino prints often have a charm for simplicity, expressive marks and clever design.”

James ends by saying that he is still learning and regards himself as a beginner but plans a print run of his albatross linocut.  ACAP’s Emeritus Information Officer wants one!

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 18 October 2024