Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi breeding in the mainland colony at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on New Zealand’s South Island are intensively managed, inter alia by daily nest checks that allow age at fledging to be known for this globally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable species The following news item with information from Department of Conservation Ranger, Sharyn Broni gives an example of an “early bird” fledgling that left the breeding colony well below the species’ average age.

The young fledgling, photograph by Hayden Parsons

“The first chick of the season fledged on 27 August. The chick has also set a new record as the youngest chick to fledge in the colony’s’ history at only 217 days old. The previous record for youngest fledging was 219 days and the average is 240 days. We think he fledged so early because he had really regular feedings from his parents, meaning he was in good condition and at a good weight, and perfect fledging conditions on Sunday with strong winds blowing him straight out to the ocean.

This is one of 20 chicks who received a GLS tracker [click here], so when he returns, we can see exactly where he's been. Now we await the other 32 chicks to fledge, making this a record season for the highest number of chicks fledged - current record is 30 chicks in 2021.

Information from the Facebook page of The Royal Albatross Centre.  Read more on the Department of Conservation website.

31 August 2023

Figure from the Statement. Map of the southern tip of South America and western Antarctica, indicating localities and island groups mentioned in the text. Notable locations in South America mentioned in the text are denoted by a red circle.

The OFFLU (WOAH/FAO Network of Expertise on Animal Influenza) ad-hoc group on HPAI H5 in wildlife of South America and Antarctica have released a statement on the spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza of the subtype H5 in South America. 

The spread of HPAI H5 virus across South America has been rapid and its effects on wild bird and mammal populations devastating. Since its detection in Columbia in October 2022, the virus has spread approximately 6,000 km in only three months, with the most southern detection having been reported in a South American sea lion at Puerto Williams, Chile. There is mounting concern that HPAI H5 virus will continue its southward trajectory and reach Antarctica and its offshore islands, posing a significant risk to wildlife. 

“This risk may be increased in coming months due to the spring migration of wild birds from South America to breeding sites in the Antarctic. The negative impact of HPAI H5 on Antarctic wild birds and mammal populations could be immense, both because of their likely susceptibility to mortality from this virus, and their occurrence in dense colonies of up to thousands of pinnipeds and hundreds of thousands of birds, allowing efficient virus transmission.”

Detection and response options such as surveillance and accurate documentation of HPAI-H5-associated mortality events, and following guidelines to reduce risk of human-mediated virus spread are outlined in the statement.

The full statement from OFFLU is available to download, here.

Reference:

Breed, A., Dewar, M., Dodyk, L., Kuiken, T., Matus, R., Serafini, P.P., Uhart, M., Vanstreels, R.E.T., Willie, M. 2023. Southward expansion of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5 in wildlife in South America: estimated impact on wildlife populations, and risk of incursion into Antarctica.

Disclaimer: This statement provides the point of view of independent OFFLU experts, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the parent organisations FAO and WOAH. 

30 August 2023

David Crockett with two Magenta Petrels/Chatham Island Taikos

David Edward Crockett QSO* (25 March 1936 - 24 August 2023) of Whangarei, New Zealand was responsible for rediscovering the globally Critically Endangered and Nationally Critical Magenta Petrel or Chatham Island Taiko Pterodroma magentae in the Tuku Gully in the south west of the main Chatham Island in 1978. The petrel was previously considered to be extinct. David summarized his decade of patient searching in a paper published in the New Zealand journal Notornis in 1994 that covered aspects of the petrel’s behaviour, habitat, morphology and ecology. The population remains tiny with a total estimated population of fewer than 200 birds and 33 breeding pairs that is growing slowly. It is now the subject of active conservation, notably predator control of feral cats and pigs and rodents, fencing, and translocations, by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the Chatham Island Taiko Trust (watch a four-minute video here).

A Magenta Petrel/Chatham Island Taiko in the hand, photograph by Graeme Taylor, Department of Conservation

I met David only once, at the ICBP Seabird Conservation Symposium held in Cambridge, UK in August 1982, with its proceedings published in 1984. He, along with a large New Zealand contingent, proved to be a convivial group, and added much to the enjoyment of the symposium that was held in King's College. I well remember a magical evening during the symposium with him and the other Kiwis listening to the New Zealand Youth Choir singing in the iconic King’s College Chapel. The closing dinner in the college’s impressive Georgian Gothic Hall was also a grand affair, with what I remember as being madrigals sung from a balcony between each course. I also learnt which way to pass the Port decanter (always to the left) and somewhere still have the menu signed by David and the other symposium attendees.

A 19th Century hand-coloured plate of a Magenta Petrel by Dutch illustrator Johannes Gerardus Keulemans. Not a realistic pose!

Every decent person should leave a legacy. David Crockett left us with a whole species – and a handsome seabird at that. Surely a legacy to be proud of for any marine ornithologist. His funeral and his life of 87 years will be celebrated at Christ Church, Whangarei on 31 August 2023.

Ave atque vale, David.

References:

Crockett, D.E. 1979. Rediscovery of the Chatham Island taiko solved century-old mystery. Forest & Bird 13: 8-13.

Crockett, D.E. 1994. Rediscovery of Chatham Island taiko Pterodroma magentae. Notornis (Supplement) 41: 49-60.

Croxall, J.P., Evans, P.G.H. & Schreiber, R.W. (Eds). 1984. Status and Conservation of the World's Seabirds. International Council for Bird Preservation Technical Publication 2. 778 pp.

Imber, M.J., Crockett, D.E., Gordon, A.H., Best, H.A., Douglas, M.E. & Cotter, R.N. 1994. Finding the burrows of Chatham Island taiko Pterodroma magentae by radio telemetry. Notornis (Supplement) 41: 69-96.

Imber, M.J., Taylor, G.A., Tennyson, A.J.D., Aikman, H.A., Scofield, R.P., Ballantyne, J. & Crockett, D.E. 2005. Non-breeding behaviour of Magenta petrels Pterodroma magentae at Chatham Island, New Zealand. Ibis 147: 758-763.

Lawrence, H.A., Millar, C.D., Imber, M.J., Crockett, D.E., Robins, J.H., Scofield, R.P., Taylor, G.A. & Lambert, D.M. 2009. Molecular evidence for the identity of the Magenta petrel. Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 458-461.

Lawrence, H.A., Scofield, R.P., Crockett, D.E., Millar, C.D. & Lambert, D.M. 2008. Ancient genetic variation in one of the world's rarest seabirds. Heredity 101: 543-547.

Lawrence, H.A., Taylor, G.A., Crockett, D.E., Millar, C.D. & Lambert, D.M. 2008. New genetic approach to detecting individuals of rare and endangered species. Conservation Biology 22: 1267-1276.

*David Crockett was made an Ordinary Companion of the Queen's Service Order for Public Services in 2000 (click here). The order was established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975 and is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or appointed office”.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 29 August 2023.

Filling data gaps for the population of Wandering Albatrosses on New Zealand's Disappointment Island (pictured) was one of the aims of the research

A report by Kath Walker (Department of Conservation, New Zealand) and colleagues on the population of Antipodean albatrosses Diomedea antipodensis on New Zealand’s Auckland Islands has been released by the Department of Conservation. Researchers carried out a census and considered the capacity for drone-based whole-island surveys. 

The report’s summary follows: 

“Gibson’s wandering albatross (Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni) has been in decline since 2005. Research into the causes of and solutions to the falling numbers of Gibson’s wandering albatross includes an annual visit to the main breeding grounds on Adams Island, and this report describes the results of the field programme in the 2022/2023 breeding season.

The survival and productivity of Gibson’s wandering albatross has recovered from the dramatically low rates recorded during 2006–08, but the average survival rate for both sexes remain lower than before the population crash in 2005, and nest success has only just recovered to pre-crash levels. Recent increases in the number of nesting birds are almost certainly attributable to a higher proportion of the population choosing to breed and mark-recapture models estimates of population size still show a decline. The data missed because of the late cancellation of the 2021 season field trip precludes better estimates of population size until next year.

Twenty-two juvenile Gibson’s wandering albatrosses were fitted with satellite transmitters and dataloggers before they fledged in late December 2022. In the subsequent seven months juveniles spent more time foraging north-east of New Zealand than previously tracked adult birds. No information has previously been collected on the at-sea distribution of juvenile Gibson’s wandering albatross, so this data filled a major data gap.

For investigation into diet and mercury pollution in Gibson’s wandering albatross, work additional to the CSP annual plan, feather and blood samples were collected from 20 juvenile and 58 adult birds outside the main albatross study area.

Drone census techniques were refined, allowing a more reliable estimate of the effort required for a whole-island drone-assisted count of the number of Gibson’s wandering albatross nesting on Adams Island. High variability in the number of birds sitting on nests but not incubating eggs (loafing birds) is a large source of error when trying to count breeding birds from the air, which would require substantial concurrent ground-truthing to ameliorate. The costs and benefits of undertaking whole-island nest counts using a variety of methods including drones are explored. The island’s large size, height and persistent bad weather mean a large amount of time and resources are required to obtain a reliable whole-island count using any method. It would be a major undertaking, requiring its own dedicated effort, best done after the regular field programme to ensure the vital mark-recapture trend monitoring dataset is not compromised.”

Reference:

Walker K, Elliott G, Parker GC, Rexer-Huber K. 2023. Gibson’s wandering albatross: population study and potential for drone-based whole-island census. POP2022-08 final report prepared for New Zealand Department of Conservation. 28 p.

POP2022-08 Gibson's wandering albatross: population study and assessment of potential for drone-based whole-island census (PDF, 2,242K) 

28 August 2023