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title: "The Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses of Gough get counted for another year"
---

# The Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses of Gough get counted for another year

The [Critically Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30013) Tristan Albatross *Diomedea dabbenena* remains under serious threat from attacks on its chicks by House Mice *Mus musculus* on the United Kingdom’s [Gough Island](http://www.acap.aq/en/news/news-archive/60-2013-news-archive/1322-acap-breeding-sites-no-11-gough-island-south-atlantic-hanging-on-against-the-onslaught-of-its-killer-mice) in the South Atlantic.  Last year was the poorest breeding year since recording commenced in 2000, with less than 10% of occupied nests resulting in fledged chicks ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/en/news/latest-news/1907-below-10-for-the-first-time-tristan-albatrosses-have-their-least-successful-breeding-year-on-gough-island-since-recording-commenced-in-2000)).  Great albatrosses of the genus *Diomedea* are expected to raise chicks to fledging from 60-70% of breeding attempts, based on studies on islands where their chicks are not attacked by rodents, so conservationists are rightly concerned for the long-term future of Gough’s near-endemic albatross.

 This year's January-February count of incubating birds is now complete with researchers on the island reporting to *ACAP Latest News* that 1886 pairs were counted for the biennially-breeding species.  This figure has not as yet been adjusted to take account of the estimated numbers of nests that may have failed before the island-wide count was completed.  Gough’s often poor weather with mists causing low visibility means that the island-wide survey has to take advantage of “weather windows” to get into the mountainous interior where the albatrosses breed; thus the counts often have to be spread over several weeks.

 ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan_Albatross_female_by_John_Cooper2.jpg) 

 A female Tristan Albatross incubates its egg on Gough Island

 Come September-October this year the number of surviving chicks will be counted to see how many have survived the winter onslaught by the predatory mice.

 [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/en/news/news-archive/60-2013-news-archive/1512-the-carnage-continues-censuses-of-critically-endangered-tristan-albatrosses-on-gough-island-reveal-a-further-poor-breeding-year-due-to-attacks-by-mice) for earlier incubation counts of Gough’s Tristan Albatrosses.

 With thanks to Christopher Jones and Michelle Risi of the University of Cape Town’s [FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/index.html) for information.

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 March 2015*