As part of its activities to mark World Albatross Day (WAD2025) and its theme of “Effects of Disease” on 19 June this year, ACAP collaborated, for the sixth year running, with the international collective Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce 40 artworks depicting the Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis and the Endangered Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche carteri.  From this collection, seven paintings were chosen to illustrate art posters, available for downloading and non-commercial use.

As in previous years, to wrap up ABUN Project #49 “Effects of Disease” all the paintings have been combined into a single poster by ABUN’s Marion Schön, who led the collaboration this year, having taken over as Administrator from ABUN Co-founder and long-time ACAP supporter, Kitty Harvill.

All the #49 paintings can be viewed in an album on ACAP’s Facebook page.  The eight WAD2025 posters are also available from the ACAP album store, as are paintings from earlier collaborations with ABUN since the inaugural World Albatross Day in 2020.

With thanks to Marion Schön.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 26 June 2025

 
Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli by Peter Shearer, Artist & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for the Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion Project, after his own photograph

“We seek an enthusiastic and quantitative researcher to develop a mechanistic model integrating foraging energetics and movement data to assess how wind and sea ice influence giant petrel diet, habitat use, population trends and predation pressure on avian species.”

The Postdoctoral Associate will conduct research in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences under the supervision of Principal Investigator, Lesley Thorne.  The selected candidate will work with ecologists at Stony Brook University, New York, USA and with Richard Phillips at the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.

Read more here. The application deadline is 17 July.

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 June 2025

“Nestled in a Cliffside Colony” by pointillist artist Holly Parsons

As part of its activities to mark World Albatross Day (WAD2025) and its theme of “Effects of Disease” on 19 June this year, ACAP once more collaborated with the international collective Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce 40 artworks depicting the two albatross species chosen to be featured.  They are the Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis, endemic to France’s Amsterdam Island, and the southern Indian Ocean’s Endangered Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche carteri.  From the collection, eight paintings were chosen to illustrate art posters.  Seven posters were released during ‘WADWEEK’ over 17-19 June.  The eighth and last in the series is released here today.

Holly Parsons’ painting “Nestled in a Cliffside Colony” is of an Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross brooding its downy chick.  It follows a photograph taken by the French marine ornithologist Karine Delord at the falaises d’Entrecasteaux breeding colony on Amsterdam Island.  Holly has used the pointillism technique where small, distinct dots of colour are applied in patterns to form an image, first used by the French neo-impressionist artists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in 1886.

Holly Parsons photographing seabirds to help inspire her art on the Flock to Marion voyage in January 2025

Holly, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA, writes to ACAP Latest News about herself and her artwork: “I learned to paint using the pointillism style because of jittery hands following a brain injury.  And now I still love all the dots!  I also used some brush strokes for the lush grasses and nest.  Amsterdam Island was on fire when I started this painting.  I was inspired to immortalize the landscape, and I hoped that the albatrosses would be spared. And they were!  This cliffside colony did not burn and all the chicks were saved.”  She adds that she used acrylics on canvas board, and that her painting measures 16 x 20 inches (40.5 x 51 cm).

Short-tailed Albatrosses George and Geraldine by Holly Parsons for ACAP’s World Albatross Day on 19 June 2024, after a photograph by Jonathon Plissner.  Geraldine is the darker bird in front on the nest.  Acrylics on canvas board

Holly Parsons, who manages the Facebook group Albatross Lovers, has previously painted for ACAP.  Last year she produced two artworks for WAD2024, one of which, of George and Geraldine, the well-known pair of Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus, that breeds on Midway Atoll in the North Pacific, also uses the pointillism technique.

All eight WAD2025 art posters are available for downloading and for personal and educational display from here.  They should not be used for commercial gain.

With thanks to Karine Delord for the use of her photograph and Holly Parsons for her painting.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 23 June 2025

 
Staffers and guests at this year’s World Albatross Day morning tea at the Australian Antarctic Division on 19 June.  Dr Christine Bogle, ACAP’s outgoing Executive Secretary, holds the World Albatross Day banner on the left, incoming ACAP Executive Secretary, Jonathon Barrington, holds the other end on the right.  ACAP Advisory Committee Chair, Dr Mike Double, is at the back, sixth from the left.  Photograph by Wendy Pyper

In what has become a tradition, the Australian Antarctic Division once more hosted its annual morning tea to celebrate World Albatross Day (WAD2025) on 19 June, marking this year’s theme of “Effects of Disease”.

Dr Julie McInnes, Australian Antarctic Division (Commonwealth) and Dr Sam Thalman, Department of Natural Resources and Environment (Tasmania) each gave a short presentation about Australia's conservation efforts concerning the 18 ACAP-listed albatross species that breed and/or forage within Australia's jurisdiction.

They highlighted the ongoing efforts of scientists to obtain data on the status of Australia's breeding populations of albatrosses.  This work is highly challenging as each breeding population is located on islands that are logistically difficult to access.  Some populations are on islands near Tasmania, while others are found on Australia's remote sub-Antarctic islands.  While highly important long-term studies have been undertaken for several populations, other locations are only visited rarely.  And so, scientists are very excited about the prospect of returning to Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) in the coming Austral Summer 2025/26, which were last visited in 2004.

One of the theme-based cake offerings at the morning tea, depicting the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus - and quite a tasty treat!  Photograph by Jonathon Barrington

The speakers stressed that the threats to albatrosses globally are shifting and changing.  Recognising this year's theme for World Albatross Day, the talks highlighted the existing effects of disease on Australia's albatrosses, particularly on the globally Near Threatened Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta breeding population on Albatross Island, and efforts led by Tasmanian scientists to improve the resilience of this population to disease.  As well, the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) to the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica was identified as a looming threat to Australia's threatened albatross species, as well as to its seabirds generally.  Of concern was the recent spread of HPAI to the Kerguelen Islands, a French sub-Antarctic territory, which are less than 500 km away from HIMI.  Accordingly, the Australian Antarctic Division is putting in place biosecurity and health and safety protocols that will allow population monitoring to go ahead during the upcoming visit to HIMI, even if HPAI is found to have spread to this location.

Albatross-themed confectionary on display at the Australian Antarctic Division’s World Albatross Day tea yesterday, photograph by Wendy Pyper

Dr Chistine Bogle, ACAP’s outgoing Executive Secretary attended the morning tea.  This was Christine's last World Albatross Day event in her official capacity, and she was lauded for her leadership in albatross and petrel conservation on behalf of the 13 ACAP Parties over the past six years.  Christine will be handing over her responsibilities to Jonathon Barrington, the incoming ACAP Executive Secretary, on 1 July 2025.

Jonathon Barrington, Incoming Executive Secretary, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 June 2025