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On 11 February the last of five cohorts of Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus chicks was transferred from Torishima to Mukojima in Japan's Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. Five days later Tomohiro Deguchi, Yamashina Institute of Ornithology, reports the 15 chicks are all doing well, bringing the total transferred over the five years to 70 birds.

In the week previous to the transfer, colour-banded Short Tails translocated in previous years have been seen at the artificial colony daily, displaying among the model birds. One pair (Red Y01 from the first translocated cohort along with a naturally-reared chick from Torishima) has been observed at the same place on the translocation site from last December. They have often been seen engaging in courtship dance displays together. Two more translocated adults seen (Y11 and Y2?) are from the second translocated cohort.

Translocated sub-adult Short-tailed Albatrosses display among the models on Mukojima
Photographs by Tomohiro Deguchi

News of the translocation exercise, designed to create a new breeding locality for the species on a non-volcanically active island (now part of a World Heritage Site, click here), was greeted with much appreciation at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group, held in Oahu, Hawaii last week.

Search this web site on "Mukojima" to read earlier ACAP Latest News stories on the translocation exercise.

With thanks to Tomohiro Deguchi, Yamashina Institute of Ornithology for information and photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 February 2012