(a) Satellite image of Minami-koshima Island of the Senkaku Islands taken on 28 November 2022. (b) Colony on the slope near the cliff of Minami-koshima Island (white dots within the yellow circle: short-tailed albatrosses). (c) Colony on the narrow platform on the cliff at the southern edge of Minami-koshima Island (red triangles point to short-tailed albatross).(d) Coloured rectangles indicate enlarged areas shown in (a) (blue), (b) (orange), and (c) (red), from the publication

Jiro Otsubo (Institute of Environmental Informatics, IDEA Consultant Inc., Yokohama, Japan) and Hiroyoshi Higuchi have published in the open-access journal Endangered Species Research on the population of the Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus on the disputed Senkaku/Tiaoyutai/Diaoyu Islands.

The paper’s abstract follows:

The short-tailed albatross is an endangered seabird widely distributed in the North Pacific, mainly north of 30°N.   breeds only on Torishima Island, the Senkaku Islands, and the Ogasawara Islands in southern Japan in the north-western Pacific.  It has been regarded as a single species, but recent studies have shown that the populations of short-tailed albatross on Torishima Island and the Senkaku Islands are morphologically and genetically different; thus, they should be classified as 2 cryptic species.  Conservation plans for short-tailed albatross should therefore be developed using baseline information of each population, separately.  Most of the information reported to date has come from the Torishima population, whereas little is known about the Senkaku population.  Population size is a key baseline variable to consider when planning appropriate conservation strategies.  Here, we counted the number of short-tailed albatrosses on the Senkaku Islands using satellite images taken on 27 November 2020 and on 28 November 2022, during the 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 breeding seasons, respectively.  We estimated a total of 146 and 156 breeding pairs in November 2020 and 2022, respectively.  We highlight the importance of monitoring short-tailed albatrosses on the Senkaku Islands, the reliability of information obtained using satellite images compared to the results of earlier studies, and the challenges or limitations of using satellite images of remote islands, where frequent fieldwork is difficult.”

Reference:

Otsubo, J. & Higuchi, H. 2026.  Estimation of short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus population on the Senkaku Islands using satellite images.  Endangered Species Research 593. doi.org/10.3354/esr01462

See also:

Brothers, N., Bone, C. & Wellbelove, A. 2021.  Albatross population monitoring using satellite imagery, a case study: Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus at the Senkaku Islands. Marine Ornithology 50: 7-12.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 February 2026

The 2026/26 Royal Cam hatchling gets its second feed, photograph from the Department of Conservation

A milestone has been reached for the Endangered Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi in the intensively managed colony at Pukekura /Taiaroa Head on the New Zealand mainland with the hatching of the colony’s 1000th chick

The 1000th hatched chick in the current 2025/26 breeding season follows on from the record 38 chicks fledged in the 2024/25 season, overtaking the previous record number of 33.

The 500th chick shortly before fledging

“Last season was a fantastic one for us with great weather and plenty of food available for the parents so we’re hoping for another great season for these newly hatched toroa.  Our success rate with the chicks has just been going up and up.  Interestingly, when the colony first started with one breeding pair in 1938 through until 2007, 500 chicks hatched.  It’s only taken us under 20 years to double that number, so we are getting better at it.”

Chick Number One "Sproggins" at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head in 1938, photograph by Lance Richdale (click here)

Information from the Department of Conservation.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 03 February 2026

The Island Invasives 2026 Conference “Charting the Future”, the fourth in the series, will be held at the University of Auckland, New Zealand over 9-13 February 2026.  A selected list by author and title of presentations extracted from the conference book of abstracts follows.  It should be of particular interest to those who follow efforts to conserve procellariiform seabirds on invaded islands.

Oral Papers

Dayana Alva, Sebastián Lozano-Sanllehi, Diego Gonzales-DelCarpio, Cinthia Irigoin-Lovera, Brenda Gordillo, Isabella Díaz-Santibañez, Sara Wang, Michael Polito, Carlos Zavalaga: Assessing the relationship between house mouse relative abundance and Peruvian diving-petrel hatching success on Isla La Vieja, Peru

Anton Wolfaardt, Keith Springer, Sue Tonin: Saving Marion Island’s seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion Project.  Advancing toward the eradication of house mice from a globally significant sub-Antarctic island

Sophie Thomas, Andrew Callender, Antje Steinfurth, Araceli Samaniego, Peter McClelland: Andrew Callender, Peter McClelland, Araceli Samaniego, Sophie Thomas: Building from failure: review, investigations and next steps towards eradicating mice from Gough Island: The attempted eradication of house mice (Mus musculus) from Gough Island and its immediate aftermath

Peter McClelland, Tane Davis: Eradications and biosecurity on the Titi islands southern New Zealand – empowering indigenous owners [Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea]

Al Glen, Joanna Carpenter, Paul Jacques, Rachael Sagar, Finlay Cox: Spatial and temporal variability in population parameters of island cats [Auckland Island]

Darryl Birch, Kristine Ward, Darcelle Matassoni: Eradications on inhabited islands.  Life after the rodent eradication project on Lord Howe Island, Australia

Sheri S. Mann, Patricia C Baiao, Joshua Atwood, Shane Siers, Mary Jo Mazurek, Alex Wegmann, Nick Holmes, Mele Khalsa, Pete McClelland, Clay Chow, Fia Moe, Dilek Sahin, Gregg Howald: The history of invasive species management and the conservation future of Lehua Island, Hawai’i

Stephen Horn, Finlay Cox, Rachael Sagar, Veronika Frank, Em Oyston, Jennifer Long: Building momentum: technical advances and planning implications for Maukahuka – pest free Auckland Island

Posters

Wesley Jolley, Jonathan Plissner, Elizabeth Flint, Jose Luis Herrera, Cielo Figuerola, Carmen Antaky, Pete McClelland, Chris Forster, Morgan Walter, Dan Rapp, Nick Holmes, Alex Wegmann, Jared Underwood: Midway seabird protection project: Overview and insights from an unsuccessful mouse eradication attempt

Finlay Cox, Rachael Sagar, Katie Ward-Allen, John Quigley, Jennifer Waite, Lyndsay Murray, Lynn Booth, Antoine Filion, Maddie Van De Wetering, Jennifer Rickett, Stephen Horn: Enabling island predator eradications with a readymade 1080 predator bait for New Zealand [Auckland Island]

Access information on plenary speakers and associated workshops here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 02 February 2026

A pipping Northern Royal Albatross egg in an artificial incubator (watch video)

The small Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi colony on New Zealand’s mainland in the Pukekura/Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve must be one of the most intensively managed seabird colonies anywhere in the world – at least outside attempts to establish new colonies by introductions.  New Zealanders are good at hands-on management, just read up on their successful (and ongoing) efforts to save the Vulnerable Black Robin Petroica traversi, the Critically Endangered Kakapo Strigops habroptilus and the Endangered South Island Takahe Porphyrio hochstetteri from looming extinctions.  Three examples, to which we can add the globally Endangered Northern Royal Albatross.

The Department of Conservation rangers at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head utilize a plethora of interventions to maximise breeding success.  Their hands-on approach with the birds extends throughout the whole breeding season.  These activities fit well with this year’s celebration of World Albatross Day (WAD2026) on 19 June and its theme of “Habitat Restoration”.  It is therefore intended to feature them in ACAP Latest News during the course of the 2025/26 breeding season.

To start off, the process followed with hatching eggs and hatchlings in their first week out of the shell is described here by way of captioned pictures.  This must be the most intensive time during the breeding cycle for the rangers and therefore seems  a good place to start.

To avoid fly strike harming chicks during hatching, which can take four to five days, pipping eggs are collected and placed in artificial incubators, while the apparently unconcerned bird receives a dummy egg.  Phlegmatism comes to mind!

 
At the same time the nest and surrounds are sprayed with a bird-safe insect repellent

Successfully out of its shell after three days in the incubator

Calm acceptance.  Once hatched, the chick is returned to the nest and the dummy egg is removed (watch video)

Department of Conservation rangers then conduct twice-daily health checks and weigh-ins for the first five days after hatching (watch video), followed by daily checks for the next five days, and then weekly weighing after that.  These measurements help confirm that the chick is growing as expected

 Upside down!  During weighing the chick can get a squirt of insect repellant.  Paper towels might be placed under the chicks to absorb moisture from rain

Happy family.  The mate returns from sea to feed its chick (watch video)

Watch one pair throughout the breeding season via the 24-hour Royal Cam.

Information and photographs by Sharyn Broni and the Department of Conservation from the Bird Cams and Royal Cam Albatross Group New Zealand Facebook pages.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 January 2026