The mouse captured on camera on Gough Island in December 2021; photograph by the Gough Island Restoration Programme

The Gough Island Restoration Programme (GIRP) aimed to eradicate introduced House Mice on Gough Island in the South Atlantic to protect the island’s birdlife, including its ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  Following the completion of the bait drop by helicopter in July last year the situation looked promising until a single mouse was seen on a camera trap in mid-December.  Now more live mice have been recorded on the island as GIRP reported last week on its website:

“Since we reported the camera trap footage of a mouse on Gough in mid-December, our team on island has been running a targeted monitoring and response operation to assess the extent of mouse presence across a range of locations and intercept any individuals identified. This work remains ongoing. The team has unfortunately caught a further four mice in two other locations. These records of multiple mice mean that the Gough Island Restoration Programme has not been successful in its primary objective to eradicate every single mouse from Gough, although it will bring some respite from the immense predation pressure experienced by the birds there.

At this stage, our focus is on trying to gather as much information as possible as to how widespread mouse survival may be on the island, and across which habitats and elevations. This may help us understand the more likely cause(s) and possible ways to amend the operational approach in light of any findings so that a renewed attempt at eradication may be made at some point in the future. We will make sure that every lesson possible is learnt, not just to benefit future RSPB efforts, but those of the wider island restoration community.

The RSPB remains resolute in its commitment to see Gough restored, and to other eradications more widely including Henderson Island in the Pacific and will continue to work closely with our partners.

While we wish we could be sharing more positive news at this time, we want to express our deep gratitude to all those who have supported the Gough Island Restoration Programme.  We will endeavour to keep you all updated as and when we have further significant information.”

Still at risk to mice?  A colour-banded Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena stands over its chick on Gough Island; photograph by Michelle Risi

ACAP Latest News will post more information on the situation on Gough as it become available.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 January 2022

 Anton Wolfaardt holds his Mouse-Free Marion Sponsor a Hectare certificate received in appreciation of his leadership of the ACAP Seabird Bycatch Working Group

In February last year Anton Wolfaardt was appointed Project Manager of the Mouse-Free Marion Project that aims to rid South Africa’s sub-Antarctic island of its seabird-killing House Mice in 2024.  Previously Anton had served from 2013 as Convenor of ACAP’s  Seabird Bycatch Working Group, whose membership comprises experts and practitioners in the field of seabird bycatch and bycatch mitigation.  Anton was responsible for facilitating and co-ordinating the work of the SBWG to ensure that efforts to better understand and reduce the impacts of bycatch on seabirds, especially albatrosses and petrels, were progressed, and that ACAP remained responsive to emerging bycatch-related issues.  During his three-term convenorship the SBWG expanded its scope from a technical focus on mitigation approaches in industrial fisheries to include small-scale fisheries, monitoring and compliance requirements, and the socio-economic aspects of bycatch.

On becoming MFM Project Manager, Anton stood down as SBWG Coordinator to devote his full efforts towards the eradication of Marion Island’s mice.  In grateful recognition of his long service the ACAP Secretariat sponsored a hectare in his name.  On receiving his parting gift Anton has written “I am very grateful to my friends and colleagues at ACAP for their gift of a sponsorship towards the MFM Project.  Although I am no longer formally involved in ACAP work, the MFM Project is of direct relevance to ACAP, and South Africa’s commitment to albatross and petrel conservation.  Marion Island is an important breeding site for ACAP species.  The eradication of mice from the island will enable the globally important albatross and petrel populations that have been adversely impacted by mouse predation to recover to their original glory.  I look forward to keeping ACAP colleagues, and others, informed of our progress.”

NOTE:  Originally published on the Mouse-Free Marion website in a slightly different form.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 January 2022

A pair of Campbell Albatrosses displaying on Campbell Island

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 Peter Moore writes about his experiences with the globally Vulnerable and nationally At Risk - Naturally Uncommon Campbell Albatross Thalassarche impavida.  Peter worked for many years as a seabird scientist for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, most recently in its then Marine Conservation Unit.  He is now with the Institute for Applied Ecology in Oregon, USA.  See accounts for species so far covered in the series in the Photo Essays section on this website, including Peter’s photo essay on the Southern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora.

Peter Moore holds a Campbell Albatross chick for weighing, measuring and banding on Campbell Island, March 1988

The Campbell Albatross breeds only on Campbell Island, one of the sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand and is found throughout Australasian waters.  The species is similar in appearance to the circumpolar Black-browed Albatross T. melanophris but has honey-coloured irises and broader black margins to its underwings.  Adults breed annually and arrive on the island in early August, lay a single egg in late September-early October and fledge chicks in mid-April.  Colonies are shared with the less numerous and biennially-breeding Grey-headed Albatross T. chrysostoma.

Close-up of a Campbell Albatross, showing the honey-coloured iris

My first connection with Campbell Albatrosses, or Campbell Island Mollymawks, as we more commonly refer to them in New Zealand, came in 1987-88 when I spent a year on Campbell Island conducting research and monitoring projects for the Department of Conservation.  One of our main tasks was to record breeding success of the “mollies” at the “study square” at Bull Rock South.   This included banding breeding pairs and their chicks. Although sporadic observations of mollymawks had been made previously, and many thousands of chicks and adults had been banded since the 1950s, this was the first attempt at a more systematic study.

Campbell Albatross adults and chicks at Bull Rock South, Campbell Island, January 1998

So began approximately weekly visits, from October to May, to the Bull Rock South mollymawk colony at the north-east tip of Campbell Island.  As you emerge from the scrub behind the colony, you are greeted by the cacophony of thousands of mollymawks calling and squabbling - a sound akin to many dueling chainsaws.  The busy city of birds covers many ledges perched above spectacular cliffs.  As with all albatrosses, Campbell Albatrosses show wonderful mastery of the wind, soaring gracefully over the waves.  Built for speed, however, they are not always able to land very gracefully, and the final run into a colony ledge can be a bit out of control.  With spacing between nests determined by pecking distance, any interloper must run the gauntlet of many annoyed birds defending their spot.

 
A young Campbell Albatross chick, December 1987

A Campbell Albatross chick on its pedestal nest, February 2008

In 1987, we established a set of photo points to monitor changes in the population.    Notably, J.H. Sorensen, while stationed on the island with the ‘Cape Expedition’ during World War II, took several photographs of colonies. These have been invaluable for comparison with more recent photos.  The 1962 book by Bailey and Sorensen draws heavily on the latter author’s diaries and is a must-read for anyone interested in the wildlife of Campbell Island.  A field hut located close to the mollymawk colonies is also named in his honour.

Incidentally, field huts sometimes had a resident pair of Brown or Subantarctic Skuas Catharacta antarctica that would visit us to see what was going on. On one occasion, we conducted a scientific experiment on the dietary preferences of “Mr and Mrs Chook”.  During a rigorous set of randomized trials, canned (and expired) Lancashire Hotpot won hands-down over Irish Stew.  Very curious birds, if you happen to lie down to rest in the tussock after a hard morning surveying albatrosses, a skua will soon arrive to check out if you have expired.

One of my favourite routes on the island involved a return trip to Beeman Base from Sorensen Hut, near the Bull Rock colonies, via the colonies scattered above the north-western coastal cliffs. Along the way, there are stunning views of the inaccessible Courrejolles Peninsula.  The weather can be wild and exhilarating - wind thundering up cliff-faces can sound like an out-of-control train locomotive!

View of Bull Rock North mollymawk colony, 11 December 1942; photograph by J.H. Sorensen

The same view of Bull Rock North in October 1995

Large colonies of Campbell and Grey-headed Albatrosses occur on the slopes of the inaccessible Courrejolles Peninsula on Campbell Island

During several seasons in the 1990s, with the help of several colleagues and volunteers, I conducted censuses of colonies and used counts of nests in photographs to estimate population change.  Visiting accessible colonies often entailed walking on steep slopes, and slippery rocks and muddy ledges, which at times felt a little hair-raising.

There were approximately 31 000 nests of Campbell Albatrosses in the 1940s, decreasing 22% to 24 600 nests in the 1990s.  Campbell Albatrosses often follow fishing vessels and are vulnerable to bycatch.  Since the main population decline occurred between the 1960s and 1980s, the peak in tuna longline fishing in the New Zealand region may have had an impact.  A new population assessment in 2019 estimated there were 24 300 nests, suggesting relatively little change occurred over the intervening twenty-plus years.  In contrast, Grey-headed Albatrosses have continued to decline steadily in numbers on Campbell Island.

There are probably few land-based threats to albatrosses on Campbell Island nowadays - feral cats Felis catus apparently disappeared after domestic sheep Ovis aries were culled in the early 1990s, and Norway Rats Rattus norvegicus were eradicated in 2001.  Subantarctic Skuas remain the main predator of seabirds on the island.

Over the years, it was a great privilege to spend time on Campbell Island, and my time with the “mollies” was a special highlight. It feels like a corner of the world that is relatively untouched by humans, yet it is not beyond the touch of climate change.  I hope these magnificent birds continue to thrive in the face of a changing world.

Rainbow off the Bull Rock North colony, October 1996

Selected publications:

Bailey, A.M. & Sorensen J.H. 1962.  Subantarctic Campbell Island.  Proceedings Number 10.  Denver Museum of Natural History.  305 pp.

Frost, P.G.H. 2020.  Status of Campbell Island and Grey-headed Mollymawks on the Northern Coasts of Campbell Island, November 2019. Whanganui, New Zealand: Science Support Service.  24 pp.  Final reports for BCBC2019-03: Seabird population research: Campbell Island 2019/20. Conservation Services Program Reports, Department of Conservation.

Moore, P.J. 2004.  Abundance and population trends of mollymawks on Campbell Island. Science for Conservation No. 242.  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  62 pp.

Waugh, S.M., Weimerskirch, H., Moore, P.J. & Sagar, P.M. 1999.  Population dynamics of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses Diomedea melanophrys and D. chrysostoma at Campbell Island, New Zealand, 1942-96.  Ibis 141: 216-225.

Peter Moore, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, Oregon, USA, 13 January 2022

A Wedge-tailed Shearwater in its burrow on Oahu, photograph from Pacific Rim Conservation

“Moon, high and deep in the sky
Your light sees far,
You travel around the wide world,
and see into people's homes.
Moon, stand still a while
and tell me where is my dear.
Tell him, silvery moon,
that I am embracing him.
For at least momentarily
let him recall of dreaming of me.
Illuminate him far away,
and tell him, tell him who is waiting for him!
If his human soul is, in fact, dreaming of me,
may the memory awaken him!
Moonlight, don't disappear, disappear!

“Song to the Moon”, in translation, from the opera Rusalka by Antonin Dvorak

Patricia Janečková performs “Song to the Moon”

David Hyrenbach (Hawai’i Pacific University, Oahu, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published in ‘Elapiao, Journal of the Hawaii Audubon Society, on an unusually high fallout of fledging Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica.  “Working with USFWS, we documented unusually high wedge-tailed shearwater fallout in O'ahu (Hawai'i) during the 2011 fledging season using standardized road surveys.”

Reference:

Hyrenbach, K.D., Urmston, J. & Swindle, K. 2022.  Road surveys detect unusually high Wedge-tailed Shearwater fallout in SE O’ahu during the 2011 fledging season.  ‘Elapiao 82(1): 1-5.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 January 2022