BirdLife Australia and Birds New Zealand will hold the 13th Australasian Ornithological Conference over 18-20 November 2025 in Perth, Western Australia.

“The AOC is BirdLife Australia’s primary conference and is the largest biennial gathering of enthusiastic amateur and professional ornithologists from the region.  You’ll have the chance to hear experts in the field of ornithology, as well as mingle with like-minded bird lovers and enthusiasts.  There will be plenty of event plans before and after the conference, including workshops, field trips and social events.  Our exhibitors will also showcase the latest products and services available in the market.”

A symposium on Seabird Conservation is being led by Barry Baker of the Australasian Seabird Group: “Seabirds are one of the most rapidly decreasing groups of birds worldwide.  This Australasian Seabird Group-sponsored symposium is intended to capture the interest of seabird biologists under a broad theme of seabird biology and conservation.  Aggregation of the seabird papers into a symposium will provide synergies for interaction among participants and enhance potential for collaborative approaches.”

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, photograph from the Pacific Islands Avian Health & Disease Program

Click here for information on the plenary speakers.  Details are also available for workshops and excursions (including a full day to Rottnest Island where at West End there is a colony of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica).

Registration is open, “early bird” until 26 September.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 05 September 2025

 Breeding Laysan Albatrosses at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Reserve and USFWS volunteer Louise Barnfield completing a weekly survey.  Photographs from Louise Barnfield

Results of the 2024/25 breeding season of Laysan Albatrosses or Mōlī Phoebastria immutabilis within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Kauai are now in.  Out of 154 occupied nests within the reserve, 122 chicks were counted, giving a hatching success of 79.2%.  Predation by feral pigs early in the breeding season reduced fledging success to 53.3% and overall breeding success to 42.2%.

The remaining population of feral pigs had been removed from with the predator exclusion fence by May 2025, so it seems likely that the 2025/26 breeding season will show improved figures over the season just past.

There was a record number of 157 pairs of Laysan Albatrosses breeding within the reserve in the 2023/24 season – 20 more than in the previous season.  In the 2022/23 season pigs gained entry and destroyed nearly 70 albatross nests, prior to completion of the fence (click here).

Percentages calculated from information in the August 2025 issue of the Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges’ online newsletter “Wild Times”.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 September 2025

A breeding Grey-headed Albatross on Bird Island, photograph by Richard Phillips

Elizabeth Mackley (British Antarctic Survey, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published in the open access journal Endangered Species Research on the most recent survey of three albatross species on South Georgia/Islas Georgias del Sur* in the South Atlantic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Marine ecosystems face multiple human threats, and many species are declining. The wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris and grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma are categorised globally as Vulnerable, Least Concern and Endangered, respectively, by the IUCN. The populations at South Georgia are listed by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels as High Priority Populations for conservation, and to determine their current status and trends, we surveyed all breeding sites of wandering albatrosses, and ~30 % and ~73% of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses, respectively. Comparisons with previous surveys indicated considerable variation in trends among sites and slower rates of decline from 2014/2015 to 2023/2024 than from 2003/2004 to 2014/2015: wandering albatross –0.1 vs. –1.7 % yr–1; black-browed albatross –1.1 vs. –1.8 % yr–1; grey-headed albatross: –4.1 vs. –5.0 % yr–1. Updated population estimates for South Georgia were 1278, 55 119 and 18 475 breeding pairs of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses, comprising 13.3, 7.6 and 28.7 % of revised global totals and reflecting major declines of 39, 46 and 66 %, respectively, in just 32 to 40 yr. The main threats are bycatch in fisheries outside South Georgia waters and climate change, including the southerly shift of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba for the Thalassarche species. There are no current terrestrial threats other than highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) for wandering albatrosses. Addressing bycatch is therefore a clear management priority, which needs to overcome the main barriers of weak governance, reluctance to mandate best-practice bycatch mitigation and poor monitoring and enforcement of compliance.”

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

Reference:

Mackley, E.K., Poncet, S., Andy Black, A., Black, J., Floyd, K., Hall, R.M., Holmes, E.E., Manthorpe, S.J., Passfield, K., Bennison, A. & Phillips, R.A. 2025.  Endurance or extinction: long-term declines in albatrosses at South Georgia highlight threats from South Atlantic fisheries and climate change.  Endangered Species Research 57: 437-451.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 03 September 2025

*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.

Infographic from the publication

Leia Navarro-Herrero (Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain) and colleagues have published open access in the Journal of Applied Ecology.  “This study provides guidance for seabird conservation by identifying high-risk bycatch species and priority fishing fleets where mitigation should be targeted.  It also demonstrates the potential of environmental variables to predict seabird–fishing interactions and underscores the political responsibilities essential for effective management in Northwest African waters.”

The paper’s abstract follows:

1. Fisheries have been recognised as a significant global threat to seabird populations through overfishing and bycatch. Yet, seabird–fishing interactions remain understudied in West African waters despite rich seabird biodiversity and intensive fishing activity occurring in the region.
2. Using high-resolution tracking data of seabirds and fishing and nonfishing vessels, we investigated the dynamics of interactions between nine seabird species and industrial fisheries in Northwest African waters. We also assessed the underlying factors (seabird breeding status; fishing vessel density, gear type, length and operational status; and environmental features) influencing seabird–fishing interactions. Furthermore, we pinpointed the relevant political stakeholders in such seabird–fishing interactions by identifying the type of fisheries, vessel nation flags and maritime zones involved.
3. We found that, for each species, more than 70% of individuals encountered vessels within 30 km, with most of these encounters involving nonfishing vessels. However, Cape Verde shearwaters (Calonectris edwardsii), to a lesser extent, Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) and Audouin's gulls (Ichthyaetus audouinii) frequently approached fishing vessels within 1.5 km, exhibiting clear attending behaviour. Specifically, 66% of Cape Verde shearwaters, 27% of Cory's shearwaters and 50% of Audouin's gulls showed this close-range association with fishing vessels.
4. The probability of a seabird attending a fishing vessel was influenced by specific vessel features and environmental conditions (i.e. large vessels near the coast). Furthermore, we identified a range of flags within national waters, showing that nearly 20% of the interactions involved foreign-flagged fishing vessels from Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America.
5. Policy implications. This study provides guidance for seabird conservation by identifying high-risk bycatch species and priority fishing fleets where mitigation should be targeted. It also demonstrates the potential of environmental variables to predict seabird–fishing interactions and underscores the political responsibilities essential for effective management in Northwest African waters.

Reference:

Navarro-Herrero, L., March, D., Militão, T., Saldanha, S., Medrano, F., Vicente-Sastre, D., Ouled-Cheikh, J., Ramos, R., Matos, D., Rodrigues, I., Paiva, V.H., Granadeiro, J.P., Catry, P., Leal, A., Dinis, H.A., & González-Solís, J. 2025.  Seabird-vessel interactions in industrial fisheries of Northwest Africa: Implications for international bycatch management.  Journal of Applied Ecology DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.70139.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 02 September 2025