Marion Island SAPRI “birders” for 2024/25, Andile Kuzwayo and Jana Rau, photograph from SAPRI

The population demography of Vulnerable Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans has been long, studied on South Africa’s Marion Island, with colour-banded birds in study colonies followed annually by a succession of field researchers since the mid 1980s.

Information on the 2024/25 breeding season in an article by field researchers Andile Kuzwayo and Jana Rau on the website of the South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) has revealed an overall 63.2% breeding success (81.7% hatching success, 77.4% fledging success).  The following long quote extracted from the article gives a flavour of the arduous field work conducted.

A Wandering Albatross pair on Marion Island; the larger, whiter male is on the newly-built nest, photograph by Danielle Keys

“This breeding success for 2025 is positive, being the second highest success over the last decade.  We hope this positive trend will continue for this Vulnerable species.  Breeding success on the island has fluctuated in the last 10 years, with the lowest breeding success being in 2024 possibly due to the devastating effects of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak.  In January 2026, we went on a quest to locate all the Walbie eggs on the island … and after ~500 km hiked cumulatively, 2776 eggs were found.

Monitoring involves visiting roughly 370 nests every 14 days in specific colonies.  For all our species, checks include marking nest locations, and closely monitoring laying, hatching and fledging outcomes, chick and adult health, ring numbers, plastic pollution, and signs of mouse activity.  Ringing is a main task for us, as it allows us to identify and track individual birds over their lifetimes.  Ringing albatrosses and petrels is an unforgettable and special experience.  Not only because you are faced with a snapping bill that can grow to ~19 cm long but also because chicks defend themselves by projectile vomiting fish-oil-rich stomach contents that never quite washes out of clothing … “Marion perfume” anyone?

A major threat to all our birds remains invasive house mice, which inflict severe, often fatal wounds on chicks and adults, with some injuries so severe they expose bone.  Mouse eradication is one of the most urgent conservation priorities on the island.”

The article also gives information on two other long-term studies conducted on the island: on ACAP-listed Grey-headed Albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma and Northern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus.

Read about the 2026/27 seabird researchers who will shortly sail to spend a year on Marion Island to continue the long-term studies on the three ACAP-listed species here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 July 2026

The Scientific Program Committee of the Pacific Seabird Group’s 54th Annual Meeting is now accepting proposals for workshops, symposia, special sessions, and roundtables for the meeting to be held from 15-19 February 2027 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Workshops are hands-on learning exercises where participants engage in a mix of lectures and activities and leave with some new skill or knowledge set. Examples might include navigating software like R, eBird, or Raven; learning emerging ornithological techniques, such as tracking devices, Motus, and passive acoustic monitoring; gaining insights into how to write a successful grant proposal or prepare a paper for publication; and becoming familiar with bird education curricula through hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Symposia and Special Sessions are opportunities for integrated syntheses of new or timely topics or themes with broad appeal to PSG and its members. Organizers are expected to invite speakers to share new findings and insights and provide diverse perspectives and voices. Invited talks should be focused around a central theme or question and allow for thorough coverage of that theme. A symposium is a coherent set of papers designed and intended to be published, while a special session is a coherent set of papers not necessarily intended to be published. For guidelines and examples of past PSG symposia, click here.

Roundtables are open forum discussions on predetermined seabird-related topics, with one or more moderators. Participants are given equal rights to discuss, share ideas and information, and debate, in an organized and respectful way. Example topics include conservation strategies, emerging threats, and more.

Submit workshop, symposium, special session and round-table proposals using this form by Tuesday, 01 September 2026.  For further information, contact the PSG 2027 Scientific Program Chair, Tom Good at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The PSG Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for 2027 recipients of the PSG Lifetime Achievement Award and the PSG Special Achievement Award to be honoured at the 2027 Pacific Seabird Group Annual Meeting.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 17 July 2026, updated 19 July 2026

Situation with the Black Petrel tracking study as of 16 July 2026

In May this year Vulnerable Black Petrels or tākoketai Procellaria parkinsoni begun fledging, leaving their burrows on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island/Aotea and Little Barrier Island/Te Hauturu-o-Toi and heading to Pacific waters off the coast of Ecuador (click here).  In the largest Black Petrel tracking study undertaken to date, 47 fledglings were fitted with live trackers “to help researchers better understand one of the ocean’s enduring mysteries: why do fewer than 10% of Black Petrel chicks ever return home?”

At least two of the tracked young Black Petrels, “’Ono” (six in Te Reo Māori) and “Whitu” (seven in Te Reo Māori) have now made it all the way across the Pacific to Ecuadorian waters, respectively, 16 004 km in 67 days and 20 202 km in 71 days since fledging.

Tracks of two of the Black Petrel fledglings

ACAP Latest News will continue to report on the tracking study as further information becomes available.

Follow the tracker maps here.  Information from the Facebook page of Live Ocean.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 16 July 2026

 The first positive case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in New Zealand has put the country on full alert

A Subantarctic or Brown Skua Catharacta antarctica found on Petone Beach, Wellington, has returned a positive test for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 bird flu) – the first record for New Zealand.  The skua was found alive on the beach by a member of the public on 10 July and taken to the Wellington Zoo where it was tested (click here for the news and a press briefing video).

The New Zealand Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has stated “This is a coastal detection in an individual ocean-going seabird and there is no evidence of any mass mortality in wildlife or transmission between wild birds in New Zealand. There has been no detection in poultry.  The situation is being closely monitored, but at this stage there is no evidence of any illness beyond this seabird. We’ve had people out on Petone beach checking and found no other issues. We will continue to monitor the beach and surrounding areas.  We ask the community to be alert and follow advice about reporting sick or dead birds. It is vital that people do not touch or handle unwell birds.   The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will continue its wider surveillance and work closely with industry, veterinarians, and wildlife carers.”

Arrival of bird flu in New Zealand follows shortly after its detection on the Australian mainland in a skua and in giant petrels Macronectes spp.  It now seems inevitable the disease will affect ACAP-listed seabirds in New Zealand, including the albatrosses and petrels that breed on its many islands.

ACAP Latest News will continue to report on the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in relation to its effects on ACAP-listed species.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 15 July 2026