George incubating this month, photograph by Jon Plissner/USFWS

Geraldine, the Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus was seen back on Midway Atoll’s Sand Island on 20-21 October and since then her mate George has been incubating.  A field camera captured their rendezvous moment on the 20th.  On 14 November the pair exchanged incubation duty for the first time this season. They have shown up together on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge since 2016 (although "Lonesome George" had been seen regularly on the atoll since 2006).. To date the famous pair of “Golden Goonies” has successfully fledged three chicks since their first known meeting in 2016, but had been unsuccessful in the 2021/22 breeding season as the egg did not hatch (click here).

Reunited: Field camera photograph of George and Geraldine on 20 October 2022, photograph from the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge

 In addition to the famous pair, two more Short-tailed Albatrosses have been seen on Sand Island this month.  George and Geraldine’s 2019 chick (banded red AA08) was sighted again, following previous visits in 2021 and earlier this year (click here).  AA08 was the pair’s first chick.  A sub-adult banded as a chick on Japan’s Torishima, one year after Geraldine fledged from there in 2008, was spotted  in a “nearby forest along West Beach”. George is also from Torishima,  fledging in 2003.

USFWS biologists Keely Hassett (left) and Kelly Goodale band the downy Short-tailed Albatross chick with Red AA08 on 6 May 2019, photographs by Jon Pilssner

 Follow the fortunes of George and Geraldine on Midway since 2018 in 18 separate posts to ACAP Latest News.

News from the Facebook page of the Friends of Midway Atoll Natonal Wildlife Refuge.

John Cooper, ACAP News Correspondent, 29 November 2022

British Author, Ross James, has released a children’s book called Giants of South Georgia*. The story centres on a boy called George and his Grandma as they travel to and around South Georgia, and their experiences as they encounter its unique wildlife along the way. 

Told in rhyme and accompanied by water colour illustrations by Olga Volgina, the story capitalises on the literary device of the ‘journey’ to explore its deeper environmental themes whilst celebrating the power of everyday people to make a difference in the world in which they live. 

Ten-year-old reader, Xenia, has reviewed the story saying, 

"A great rhyming, animal book that has a journey through South Georgia inside of it. I liked how Ross repeated some of his lines throughout the book. The pictures of the lovely animals look so grand. I also really like how the king penguin stood up for itself against the grumpy Elephant seal. The message from this book is saying that even if you’re not a superhero you can try to help wildlife."

Author Ross James lives in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)* with his wife and children but grew up in England on the Cornish coast. 

Reference:

James, Ross (2022). Giants of South Georgia. BearingSouth. ASIN: B0BBLD8739

28 November 2022

*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.

Northern Royal Albatross, LGK (the male, lime/green/black), captured on Royal Cam, the Department of Conservation's 24-hour live stream of an albatross nest during the breeding season

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DoC) has advised it is likely the four Northern Royal Albatross eggs discovered missing from the Taiaroa Head colony on Thursday 10 November may never be found.

Police are involved in the case and are reviewing CCTV footage gathered from the site itself, Port Otago and Blue Penguins Pukekura in the hope of finding a lead in the investigation. 

With almost all avenues explored and no current breakthroughs in the investigation, it is increasingly feared the missing eggs have been poached.

A more detailed article on the investigation has been published in the Otago Daily Times. 

25 November 2022

French and Spanish versions of the ACAP Species Infographic for the Endangered Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca in support of last year's World Albatross Day and its theme of Climate Change are now available, along with earlier released English version. English and Portuguese language versions of infographics are available to download here, whilst French and Spanish versions can be found in their respective language menus for the website under, Infographies sur les espèces and Infographía sobres las especies.

The infographic in the three official ACAP languages has been co-published with South Africa's Mouse-Free Marion Project, which aims to eradicate the island’s introduced House Mice Mus musculus.  The mice have taken to attacking and killing the seabirds, including its breeding Sooty Albatrosses – as is illustrated in the infographic.

Versions in the three ACAP official languages of English, French and Spanish are now available for all nine ACAP albatross infographics produced to date.  Available in two poster sizes (approximately A2 and A3) and in a web version, the infographic may be freely downloaded and used non-commercially and with acknowledgement in the support of albatross conservation.

The Sooty Albatross Infographic follows on from the eight previously produced for the Endangered Antipodean Diomedea antipodensis, Near Threatened Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes, Endangered Grey-headed Thalassarche chrysostoma, Near Threatened Laysan P. immutabilis, Near Threatened Shy T. cauta, Critically Endangered Tristan D. dabbenena, Vulnerable Wandering D. exulans and the Critically Endangered Waved Phoebastria irrorata Albatrosses.

All the infographics have been created by Thai illustrator Namasri ‘Namo’ Niumim who has also produced a poster illustrating the albatrosses depicted on the infographics (click here).

Sponsorships for a further six infographics have been obtained, including for three ACAP-listed petrels.  It is intended that some at least of these will be prepared in time for the fourth World Albatross Day and its theme of "Plastic Pollution" on 19 June next year.

John Cooper, ACAP News Correspondent, 24 November 2022