The BirdLife International Marine Programme has commenced a new initiative to increase awareness of the conservation threats faced by albatrosses by setting up nest cameras that take hourly still photographs to follow the breeding cycles of four South Atlantic species.  The cameras, set up in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey, will record the birds’ breeding seasons from eggs being laid to chicks fledging from the nest.  These Southern Ocean albatrosses, three of which are considered globally threatened, are Wandering Diomedea exulans, Grey-headed Thalassarche chrysostoma, Black-browed T. melanophris and Light-mantled Phoebetria palpebrata.

Georgia Darby of BirdLife International has written to ACAP Latest News: “#'AlbatrossStories' is a communications project which will run throughout 2019, aiming to raise awareness of albatross species and the threats they face.  The cameras have been set up on Bird Island, South Georgia [Islas Georgias del Sur]*, which will follow four specially chosen albatross.  We will follow the lives of these birds on social media, as they find their partners, breed and raise their chicks. We will also involve schools in the project through running a competition to name the birds, and various creative writing and drawing competitions throughout the year too. We hope that by capturing the public imagination with these amazing birds, both in the UK, and in Japan, Taiwan and China where the project is also running, we can raise awareness of these amazing birds, and encourage their conservation and protection out at sea.”

Follow #AlbatrossStories on Facebook (Albatross Task Force), Instagram (@albatross_stories) or Twitter (@albytaskforce).

The four Bird Island ‘albicams’ complement two live-streaming webcams that have followed the breeding efforts of Near Threatened Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis on the Hawaiian island of Kauai since 2012 (but not operating in 2019 after five years of live streaming; see the  2014-2018 greatest hits) and of globally Endangered Northern Royal Albatrosses D. sanfordi at Taiaroa Head on New Zealand’s South Island via the 'Royal Cam' every year since 2015.  You can also follow a globally Endangered Bermuda Petrel or Cahow Pterodroma cahow breeding pair via a ‘burrowcam’ (click here).

With thanks to Georgia Darby, BirdLife International Marine Team, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 08 February 2019

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas.

“George” and “Geraldine”, a pair of globally Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus, returned to Sand Island in the USA’s Midway Atoll in the north Pacific in October last year (click here).  Since then the pair laid an egg which hatched on 3 January (click here).

Geraldine the female sub-adult Short-tailed Albatross on Midway Atoll with her downy chick in January 2019; photograph by Zeke Smith

George, male of Midway's Short-tailed Albatross pair, with his growing chick; photograph by Bob Peyton, USFWS

George, the male of the pair, a bird in adult plumage, has been visiting Midway Atoll since November 2006 (when known as “Lonesome George”.  He hatched from the colony on Japan’s Torishima in 2003 and was banded there as a chick.  Geraldine, an assumed younger bird, is still in sub-adult plumage and is suspected to be an individual that was banded on Torishima in April 2008.  She was first observed on Sand Island in early 2012.  The two birds were first seen together on the island in late 2016.  Last season the pair incubated a Black-footed Albatross P. nigripes egg, which hatched and resulted in a fledged chick.  This season they have been doing it properly, hatching their own chick.

George (on the right) and Geraldine together on Midway in October 2018, photograph by Madalyn Riley, USFWS Volunteer

Previously, a different pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses has bred successfully three times in four years on Midway's Eastern Island within the atoll, fledging several chicks, the last one in 2014 (click here).

Read more about George and Geraldine here and here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 February 2019, updated 07 February 2019

The UK’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has received funding from Darwin Plus to undertake radar tracking of fishing vessels with globally Vulnerable Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans in the South Atlantic.

Wandering Albatross at sea in the South Atlantic, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

“One of the successful [funded] schemes will see albatrosses and petrels benefit from further research using ‘bird-borne’ radar devices.  The project is being run by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the attached radars will measure how often tracked wandering albatrosses interact with legal and illegal fishing vessels in the south Atlantic to map the areas and times when birds of different age and sex are most susceptible to bycatch – becoming caught up in fishing long lines.  The project’s results will be shared with stakeholders to better target bycatch observer programmes, monitor compliance with bycatch mitigation and highlight the impact of bycatch on seabirds.”

The planned research follows similar initiatives utilizing radar-tracking devices mounted on southern hemisphere albatrosses announced by France and New Zealand (click here).

Professor Richard Phillips, BAS Principal Scientist and leader of its Higher Predators and Conservation group and Co-convenor of ACAP’s Population and Conservation Status Working Group said that “The British Antarctic Survey is delighted to be awarded this funding from Darwin Plus, which is for a collaboration between BAS and BirdLife International.  The project will use a range of technologies - GPS, loggers that record 3-D acceleration and novel radar-detecting tags - to quantify interactions of tracked wandering albatrosses with legal and illegal fishing vessels.  The technology will provide much-needed information on the areas and periods of highest bycatch.”

Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 February 2019

ACAP Latest News has previously reported on a Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis (Near Threatened) on the Hawaiian island of Kauai that survived an attack by dogs as a chick in 2012.  Following rehabilitation and release by Save our Shearwaters (SOS) the bird, identified by its band A432,  was seen back on the island in the 2017/18 season when it bred successfully (click here).

A432 checks out her newly-laid egg in December 2017, photograph by Hob Osterlund

News is now in from SOS that the bird has returned for its second breeding attempt, with its 2017/18 mate, and they are incubating a new egg.  ACAP Latest News wishes A432 a long life and successful breeding career.

View a video clip of A432 swimming vigorously in the SOS conditioning pool while undergoing rehabilitation.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 February 2019