A Salvin’s Albatross perches on its pedestal nest, from which the protruding upper bill of a conspecific can be seen

NOTE:  This post completes a series that features photographs of the 31 ACAP-listed species, along with information from and about their photographers.  In this last photo essay, Graham Parker of Parker Conservation, supported by photographs taken by colleague Matt Charteris, writes about his experiences visiting and conducting research on the breeding sites of the New Zealand endemic and globally Vulnerable Salvin’s Albatross Thalassarche salvini.

It has taken a village of 31 albatross researcher/photographers around the globe and nine months of gentle cajoling to complete this series covering 31 ACAP-listed species.  Graham and Matt’s essay has been posted on the first day of a week of marking and raising awareness of World Albatross Day 2022 on 19 June.  It is hoped the varied writing styles of the authors, along with at times their stunning photographs, will offer both interesting reading and insights into what it is really like to live with albatrosses.  Thanks to you all!

Approaching Proclamation Island, Bounties in 2018.  From left: Matt Charteris, Graham Parker, Kalinka Rexer-Huber and Paul Sagar

Preparing for our first trip to the Bounty Islands was different to any other island trip we’d prepared for.  The destination is particularly intimidating.  Lying some 670 km off the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, the 13 unvegetated granite islands that make up the group comprise just 135 ha in total land area.  Sitting on the Bounty Plateau, the islands are surrounded by the Southern Ocean.  There is no safe haven once a vessel arrives at the Bounty Islands.  No sheltered anchorage where the yacht Evohe that was taking us there could hide away.  This is a crucial factor for workers wanting access to the islands to conduct research work on the Nationally Critical Salvin’s Albatross.

Proclamation Island in 2017, with Erect-crested Penguins and Salvin’s Albatrosses breeding on bare rock

The Bounty Islands are home to perhaps 30 000 - 40 000 breeding pairs of Salvin’s Albatrosses. That is by far the majority of the breeding population for the species, with just 1100-1200 pairs on the other breeding site, the Western Chain of the Snares Islands.  Salvin’s Albatrosses are frequently incidentally caught in New Zealand commercial fisheries, in other nations’ waters, and on the high seas.  Estimates are imprecise, but pretty scary: between 2002 and 2020 an estimated 4373 –-11 361 Salvin’s Albatrosses were killed in commercial trawl, and demersal and pelagic longline fisheries.  Most captures are in trawl, follow by demersal longline and then pelagic longline.  And that’s just the captures in New Zealand waters.

Fortunately for our first trip to the Bounty Islands we had the vastly experienced Paul Sagar with us.  We also had Matt Charteris on the team, another veteran of Southern Ocean albatross work.  Paul and Matt had both visited the islands previously and so their combined experience and knowledge were key to the success of our trip.  It takes two and a half to three days to reach the Bounty Islands by yacht.  To coincide with the incubation phase of the Salvin’s breeding cycle, our first trip was in October.  The austral spring is a time of swiftly changing weather in southern New Zealand, and frequent strong winds.  We knew we’d be in for some wild conditions, but we hoped to have enough weather windows to land on Proclamation Island and deploy satellite transmitter tags on breeding Salvin’s Albatrosses to better understand the birds’ movements relative to commercial fishing vessels in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. We also planned to deploy GLS tracking tags and install cameras programmed to take hourly images, to better inform phenology for the species and provide some nest survival data.  Both GLS and cameras were retrieved in a follow up trip a year later.

A Salvin’s Albatress on Toru Islet, Western Chain, Snares Islands

The Bounty Islands sit low in the ocean. The highest point of the highest island is just 73 metres above sea level.  Approaching on a yacht rolling in the ocean swells, a sensory welcome awaits.  Eager to see the specks of land, our vision is clouded with gliding Salvin’s Albatrosses in their thousands circling the granite rocks.  A cacophony of noise follows as the sound of albatrosses, Erect-crested Penguins Eudyptes sclateri and New Zealand Fur Seals Arctocephalus forsteri, and a few less-abundant bird species, noisily go about their day.  Once close enough, our air intakes are filled with the intense smell of jam-packed breeding colonies. The roar of oceanic swells crashing into the rocky islands dominates noisily as we get close enough to inspect the landing site and gauge if we can get ashore.

Albatrosses and penguins on Proclamation Island, with yacht Tiama keeping close by in 2015

Surging swells mean that the tricky part is getting from the yacht into a tender, and from the tender onto the kelp-covered rocks.  Once that is achieved, a welcoming party of fur seals awaits.  One of us must lead the group to gently persuade the fur seals out of our way, and to avoid causing a stampede of ‘furries’ madly colliding with the tightly packed Salvin’s Albatrosses and Erect-crested Penguins and crushing their eggs.  Matt embraced the role on our first trip, and we proceeded up the slippery rocks and a few tricky bits to climb with rope assist.  We felt like clumsy intruders, disturbing the established but delicate hierarchies of the island’s inhabitants.  Fur seal teeth and clappy-snappy bills are focused in our direction, but a corridor is allowed for us to access the top of Proclamation Island with minimal disturbance to the locals.  The cries of the breeding penguins are literally painful, and I prefer to use earplugs to ease the effect of their high pitched calls on my ears.  Normally a 360° view on an island is a hard-earned thing.  Not so on the Bounties, where ocean and sky are visible all around, enforcing the sense of isolation.

During the day a constant watch of the ocean conditions is maintained, and VHF radios are kept close to hear a ‘return to boat’ call from the vessel crew.  We land all the gear we need to camp on the island if we need to, but we really don’t want to have to resort to that.  Real estate is at a premium so any pitching of tents will involve shifting some unlucky residents.  The hard granite does not look a comfortable bed either, despite being more stable than our bunks back on the yacht. To minimise disturbance to the island we plan to return to the  Evohe after each workday.  On the days that there is too much swell to get on and off the island, we haul anchor, motor away to deeper water and sit with the vessel’s bow into the swell, waiting until the seas drop enough to return to the island.

Rough seas, strong winds: camping on The Snares' Toru Islet is no picnic

On the first trip with Paul Sagar and Matt Charteris we successfully deployed GPS and GLS tags.  We returned a year later to recover the GLS and cameras and deploy further satellite tags.  In both years we conducted nest-inspection transects to confirm the proportion of apparent breeders that had eggs. These data can then be used to calibrate breeding population estimates derived from aerial images (by satellite, fixed wing plane or drone).

The Bounty Islands are a vitally important breeding site for Salvin’s Albatrosses. Visiting the islands is a massive privilege, and reinforces just how little we know about this species.  The scientific research that our trips conducted justifies disturbing the wildlife on those stunning islands, and future visits must be similarly justified.

Protected in a cave on the Snares’ Western Chain, nests used for repeated seasons can grow exceptionally tall; all photographs by Matt Charteris

Photographer Matt Charteris adds:

“I worked with Salvin’s Albatrosses on Toru and Rima Islets in the Western Chain of the Snares Islands and on Proclamation Island in the Bounty Islands over the period 2008 to 2018.  In 2018, Graham Parker and Kalinka Rexer-Huber of Parker Conservation joined the team and have continued the fieldwork programme.  It is a team that makes this work successful and safe.  Landings are difficult and opportunistic. Camping is awkward.  Support of the yachts and their skippers, the weather reader at the Roaring Forties Meteorological Service and Maritime Radio allowed the data gathering to happen.  Great to be involved!”

References:

Sagar, P.M., Amey, J., Scofield, R.P. & Robertson, C.J.R. 2015.  Population trends, timing of breeding and survival of Salvin's albatrosses (Thalassarche salvini) at Proclamation Island, Bounty Islands, New Zealand.  Notornis 62: 21-29.

Sagar, P.M., Charteris, M.R., Carroll, J.W.A. & Scofield, R.P. 2011.  Population size, breeding frequency and survival of Salvin’s albatrosses (Thalassarche salvini) at the Western Chain, The Snares, New Zealand.  Notornis 58: 57-63.

Graham Parker, Parker Conservation, Dunedin, New Zealand, 13 June 2022

The 2020 albicake winner, Best Presentation theme and Overall Co-winner: ‘Gough in Miniature’ by Adam Naylor

Although ACAP is not running a World Albatross Day cake-baking competition this year as it did for the inaugural day in 2020, we are still strongly encouraging all the bakers and albatross lovers alike out there to bake an albatross creation to mark World Albatross Day in 2022.  Extra brownie (cake) points will be awarded for incorporating the WAD2022 theme of “Climate Change”!

We had not anticipated the incredible response to the 2020 call for albicakes that resulted in no less than 74 entries, with certificates being sent to all and posters to prize winners and runner ups in various categories (click here).  Some of the technicalities behind these cakes still amazes us today; we only wish we could have tasted them all!

Our own 2020 creations!  Melanie works on her Light-mantled Albatross cake

Our 2020 call for albicakes was made at the height of the global COVID-19 lockdown.  Baking brought a much-needed distraction from those unsettling times and a great way to get creative while making something equally beautiful and delicious.  We think the world could always do with more albatross cakes and albatross facts being shared, so we would love to see your creations again this year to mark the third World Albatross Day on 19 June.

Our own 2020 creations!  Michelle with her Sooty Albatross cake baked on Gough Island

Post your albicakes on social media with the tag #albicakebakeoff so that we can enjoy them too.  Photos of albicakes should also be sent to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a few lines naming the baker(s) and giving your cake a title.  They will then all be archived in a photo album on the ACAP Facebook page.  Yours might even be selected for featuring on this website in ACAP Latest News!  Yours in albatross cakes, Michelle & Melanie (aka Michelanie).

Michelle Risi, Aldabra & Melanie Wells, Hobart, Australia, 10 June 2022

Yesterday was World Oceans Day – a day to celebrate and bring attention to our ocean and the wildlife that relies on it, including seabirds. Did you know seabirds are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates in the world? Out of 362 species, a massive 43% are listed as threatened or near threatened. Want to know more about the threats that seabirds are facing? Check out the video here.

This animation by Hannah Whitman and funded by the United Kingdom's Darwin Plus government grants scheme is the first in a series created as part of the British Antarctic Survey and BirdLife International's Seabird Sentinels Project. Keep your eyes out for more videos in the coming days.

With thanks to Bernadette Butfield, International Marine Conservation Officer, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Richard Phillips, British Antarctic Survey.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 June 2022

Pink-footed Shearwaters near a fishing vessel, waiting for a meal.  Coastal Marine Protected Area, Mar de Juan Fernández
Fardela blanca cercana a un bote de pesca, esperando algo de comida.  Área Marina Costera Protegida Mar de Juan Fernández

NOTE:  This post continues an occasional series that features photographs of the 31 ACAP listed species, along with information from and about their photographers. Here Héctor Gutiérrez Guzmán of Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge writes of the Vulnerable Pink-footed Shearwater / Fardela Blanca in Chile Ardenna creatopus he has worked with for 13 years in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile.  Hector’s original text in Spanish has not been edited; the English translation by Google Translate has been edited for readability.

My first visit to Isla Santa Clara in 2014, where I met the shearwaters and saw my first chick
Mi primera visita a la isla Santa Clara (2014), lugar donde conocí a las fardelas y vi al primer polluelo

My personal connection to the Pink-footed Shearwater

Their long flights across the Pacific, travelling thousands of kilometres and returning each year to their home to nest, is what excites me the most about this species and many other seabirds.  The shearwaters have taught me to remember where I come from and where I belong, to trust that when I return home there will be the protection and care I need.  Pink-footed Shearwaters are a regular part of my life.  Every day I mention the word fardela at least thtree times, including when I sing like them. Since 2014, I have worked  together with Oikonos and the community of the Juan Fernández Archipelago to protect the breeding ecosystem of the shearwater. It fills me with emotion when the children of the town of San Juan Bautista learn things that we have investigated for years, and when they learn of their migratory routes, what they eat and the life of a shearwater.  Communicating the scientific knowledge of the life of these birds and their relationship with the place where they live, drives me to create new challenges and inspire more people to take care of them. The at-sea movements of the shearwaters also invite me to discover the world, to never stop travelling and meeting new friends in different regions.

The Juan Fernández Archipelago in the South Pacific is the breeding habitat for 30% of the world population of the Pink-footed Shearwater
El archipiélago Juan Fernández, en el Pacífico Sur, es el hábitat de nidificación para el 30% de la población mundial de fardela blanca

Isla Santa Clara, one of the important breeding sites for the Pink-footed Shearwater in Chile
Isla Santa Clara, uno de los importantes sitios de nidificación de la fardela blanca en Chile

My encounters

I had never heard of a Pink-footed Shearwater until I saw a chick for the first time on Isla Santa Clara, when I was invited by Oikonos to monitor the burrows during the nesting season in 2014. I barely reacted when I saw that chick come out of the nest. Apparently, it was a few days before starting its first flight, when I took my camera and managed to capture a ball of grey fluff that was looking at me. I never thought that day would mark my life forever. Nor did I think that the next few years were going to be dedicated to studying and carrying out conservation actions to protect the breeding sites and the threatened ecosystems where the shearwaters breed.  I never imagined that I would think about them all day and that I would communicate about the importance of seabirds to the entire world. That day, when that chick looked at me, my life changed forever. Today, every time I see a chick through the burrewscope camera we use to monitor reproductive success, I thank it for having awakened in me that desire to protect our planet and transmit the message through scientific communication and photography. Every time I get on a boat I always go with many memory cards and batteries to take many photographs and videos that will serve to admire and learn more about this species. We currently work with multiple organizations to reduce one of its great threats, light pollution. It is a great challenge when people want more and more light, but Chile has advanced protection of its skies, biodiversity and people's health, by modifying regulations that had become obsolete and were not in line with environmental challenges. It motivates me to help my country protect our ecosystems and reduce the impacts on seabirds. There is certainly a long way to go, but we are moving forward together with the communities that live in the same places as the Pink-footed Shearwaters.

 
Reproductive monitoring in a breeding colony on Isla Santa Clara, Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile
Monitoreo reproductivo en una de las colonias de nidificación en la isla Santa Clara del Archipiélago Juan Fernández en Chile

A Pink-footed Shearwater chick a few days after starting its first flight from Isla Santa Clara in 2014
Un polluelo de fardela blanca a pocos días de iniciar su primer vuelo. Isla Santa Clara en 2014

 Un largo vuelo por el Pacífico, recorriendo miles de kilómetros y volviendo cada año a su hogar para nidificar, es lo que más me emociona de esta especie y de las aves marinas en general. Las fardelas me han enseñado a recordar de dónde vengo y cuál es mi lugar, confiar en que al regresa a mi casa estará la protección y el cuidado que necesito. Las fardelas son parte habitual de mi vida. Todos los días menciono al menos tres veces la palabra fardela, incluso cuando canto como ellas. He trabajado por 6 años junto a Oikonos y la comunidad del Archipiélago Juan Fernández para proteger los ecosistemas de nidificación de la fardela blanca. Me llena de emoción cuando los niños del poblado de San Juan Bautista aprenden cosas que hemos investigado por años. Cuando conocen las rutas migratoria, su alimentación y la vida de una fardela. Transmitir y comunicar el conocimiento científico de la vida de estas aves y cómo es su relación con el lugar donde habitan, me impulsa a crear nuevos desafíos y contagiar a más personas para cuidarlas. Los viajes de las fardelas también me invitan a conocer el mundo, a nunca parar de viajar y encontrar nuevos amigos en rutas diferentes.

Construction of an exclusion fence to protect the breeding habitat of Pink-footed Shearwaters on Isla Robinson Crusoe
Construcción de un cerco de exclusión para proteger el hábitat reproductivo de fardela blanca en la isla Robinson Crusoe

Nunca oí hablar de una fardela hasta que ví un polluelo por primera vez en la isla Santa Clara, cuando fui invitado por Oikonos a monitorear las madrigueras durante la época de nidificación en 2014. Casi no reacciono cuando ví a ese polluelo salir del nido. Al parecer estaba a pocos días de inciar su primer vuelo, cuando tomé mi cámara y logré capturar una bola de pelusas grises que me miraba. Nunca pensé que ese día marcaría mi vida para siempre. Tampoco pensé que los próximos años los iba a dedicar a estudiar y a realizar acciones de conservación para proteger los sitios de nidificación y los ecosistemas amenazados donde ellas habitan. Jamás pensé en que iba a pensar todo el día en ellas y que iba a comunicar sobre la importancia de las aves marinas para el mundo entero. Ese día, cuando ese polluelo me miró, mi vida cambió para siempre. Hoy, cada vez que veo un polluelo a través de la cámara boroscópica con la que monitoreamos el éxito reproductivo, le agradezco por haber despertado en mí esas ganas de proteger nuestro planeta y transmitir el mensaje a través de la comunicación científica y la fotografía. Cada vez que puedo subirme a un bote, voy siempre con muchas tarjetas de memoria y baterias para tomar la mayor cantidad de fotografías y videos que servirán para admirar y conocer aún más esta especie.

Pink-footed Shearwater in flight. Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile
Fardela blanca en vuelo. Archipiélago Juan Fernández, Chile

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge all those who have contributed to our research, especially CONAF, NFWF, Island Conservation, Peter Hodum, Valentina Colodro, and the local Oikonos Team living and working on Robinson Crusoe Island, Paola González, Guillermo De Rodt, Cabila Manríquez, Iva Vásquez, Pablo Manríquez. They have all facilitated these memories and photo opportunities. Editorial thanks to Michelle Hester, Oikonos.

Selected Publications:

Carle, R.D., Fleishman, A.B., Varela, T., Manríquez Angulo, P., De Rodt, G., Hodum, P, Colodro, V., López, V. & Gutiérrez-Guzmán, H. 2021.  Introduced and native vertebrates in pink-footed shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) breeding colonies in Chile.  PLoS ONE 16(7): e0254416.

[Gutiérrez-Guzmán H.] 2020.  Consejo de Ministros aprueba plan para proteger a la fardela blanca. Bienes Comunes.  26 June 2020.

Gutiérrez-Guzmán, H., Ziller, S.R. & Dechoum, M.de.S. 2019.  Chemical control of the invasive non-native shrub murtilla Ugni molinae in mountain scrub on Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile.  Conservation Evidence 16: 27-32.

Héctor Gutiérrez Guzmán, Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, Santiago, Chile, 08 June 2022