An ACAP-listed Antipodean Albatross, artwork by Lenina Villela of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 19 June 2020

It will soon be that time again and New Zealanders will be scurrying to vote for their favourite birds as Forest & Bird’s iconic Bird of the Year competition (BOTY2025) returns next month.  Operated in a light-hearted way, but with a serious underlying message, the competition aims to highlight the conservation issues facing some of New Zealand’s best known, and some of its least known, birds.  This year, 70 species have been chosen, many of them, but not all, considered to be globally threatened.

New Zealand’s BOTY competition has been running since 2005.  In some years it has thrown up intriguing results with hints of skullduggery and claims of foul (fowl?) play surfacing.  As Forest & Bird itself admits on its BOTY page “In 2025, we’re celebrating 20 years of ruffled feathers as everyone’s favourite event on the conservation calendar reflects on two decades of creativity and controversy.”

In 2021 the winner was not even a bird, but one of New Zealand’s only two non-marine native mammals, the Long-tailed Bat Chalinolobus tuberculatus (the other is also a bat).  Proponents argued that its lack of feathers (or presumably its inability to lay eggs) was outweighed by its ability to fly.  I suppose I could add that every albatross has a bat inside it!  Two years later the American late show comedian John Oliver punted the Australasian Crested Grebe, leading to unprecedented levels of international voting for it and allowing it to win by a mile, thereby arousing much consternation in Aotearoa (the Land of the Long White Cloud).  The 2024 competition was less controversial, with the beleaguered Yellow-eyed Penguin winning for a second time (the first time in 2019).

An ACAP-listed Westland Petrel, watercolour by ABUN artist Helen Worthington, after a photograph by Frank Valckenborgh

You will be able to cast your preferential ballot  at birdoftheyear.org.nz.  Five procellariiform seabirds are included, two of them ACAP-listed species.  They are the Endangered Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis, the Endangered Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica. the Endangered Hutton’s Shearwater Puffinus huttoni, the Vulnerable Cook’s Petrel Pterodroma cookii and the Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur (Least Concern).

An Antipodean Albatross feeds its chick on Antipodes Island, photograph by Keith Springer

The Antipodean Albatross or Toroa already has its Campaign Team in place, with Ahaan Halwai as its Manager, saying “We are a determined group of neurodivergent individuals set on making Toroa bird of the year and prove they are the best bird (as we have always known) and WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE HAVE WON!!!!”

Read more about the Antipodean Albatross, a regular BOTY combatant, and how it came second in BOTY2020 (its best position to date) from here.  The Antipodean Albatross (and all 22 albatross species) were featured by Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June 2020 with its theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”.  View its ACAP Species Infographic in three languages from here.

So far it seems the Westland Petrel or Tāiko (and the other three contesting procellariiforms) do not have Campaign Teams touting their winning credibility.  No albatross (or any procellariform seabird for that matter) has won the competition since its inception in 2005, so let’s see if 2025 can be a turn around with the globally Endangered Toroa on the top step for once.

Voting (instructions coming soon) will open on Monday 15 September 2025 and close on Sunday 28 September 2025.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 15 August 2025

Southern Buller's Albatrosses on The Snares by Flávia F. Barreto of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 2024, after a photograph by Dominique Filippi

Paul Sagar (Parker Conservation, Karitane, New Zealand) and colleagues have produced a final report for the Conservation Services Programme of the New Zealand Department of Conservation that details research carried out on Near Threatened Southern Buller’s Albatrosses Thalassarche b. bulleri on The Snares Islands in the the 2024/25 austral summer.

The report’s summary follows:

“This report presents a summary of the results of demographic studies at three study colonies of southern Buller’s albatrosses Thalassarche bulleri bulleri breeding at Tini Heke | The Snares from 12 to 22 January and 10 to 15 April 2025.  Demographic studies at the three study colonies on North East Island, The Snares, have been undertaken annually 1992–2025, with the exception of 2018 and 2021.  Estimates of the numbers of breeding pairs, made by recording the contents of each nest mound, increased in all three study colonies compared to 2024, but numbers remain below the levels recorded since 2010.  With the assumption that the combined total number of breeding pairs in the three study colonies was representative of North East Island as a whole, then the breeding population probably peaked in 2005–2006 and has since undergone marked annual variations, with a general decrease since 2010.

A total of 278 birds that had been banded previously in the study colonies as breeding adults of unknown age were recaptured.  A further 51 breeding birds were banded in the study colonies - these are presumed to be first-time breeders.  The estimate of adult survival in 2024 was 0.85, one of the lowest recorded during the 33 years of this study.  During the period 1992–2004 all chicks that survived to near-fledging in the study colonies were banded and their survival to return to the study colonies in subsequent years has been monitored.  This year, 69 of these birds were recaptured, with birds from cohorts banded from 2000 and 2004 recorded as breeding for the first time.  This demonstrates the long-term monitoring required to obtain reliable estimates of survival of such known-age birds.  In addition, two birds that had been banded as near-fledging in the study colonies during Sep 2013 and Sep 2014 were also recaptured for the first time.

Alphanumeric darvic [=plastic] bands were leg mounted on 418 newly banded birds or recaptured birds.  Four of these have since been sighted at sea – three at the Otago Canyons and one off Bruny Island, Tasmania.

During January 2025, 20 Druid satellite-transmitting trackers were deployed on breeding Buller’s albatrosses to follow year-round at-sea distributions.  In addition, Global Location Sensing (GLS) light-based geolocators and IgotU Global Positioning System (GPS) data loggers were deployed on eight breeding Buller’s albatrosses to investigate at-sea distribution patterns.  These deployments were short-term, and devices were recovered from six of these birds during the April trip.

In April 2024 26 GLS tags were deployed on breeding birds at the Mollymawk Bay study colony; 15 of these were retrieved during April 2025.  A further 10 Druid trackers were deployed on non-breeding Buller’s in April 2025.

SD cards and batteries were replaced in 16 nest cameras deployed at breeding colonies on The Snares and set to record one photograph every hour of nesting Buller’s albatrosses during daylight for a further year.”

Reference:

Sagar, P., Rexer-Huber, K., Schultz, H., Simister, K., Thompson, D. & Parker, G. 2025. Population studies of southern Buller’s albatrosses at Tini Heke | The Snares Islands 2025. Final report to the Department of Conservation, Conservation Services Programme.  Karitane: Parker Conservation.  18 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 14 August 2025

A feral pig approaches an incubating Laysan Albatross in the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge

Feral pigs are a major predator of breeding seabirds on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, including within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge where no less than 64 eggs of the Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis were reported lost to pigs in 2023 prior to the completion of a predator-proof fence.  The fence was finally completed in October 2023, but it appears some feral pigs remained within the enclosed area until recently.  It has now been announced by the environmental NPO Pacific Rim Conservation that the fenced area is now free of pigs, as described with trail camera photographs on its Facebook Page.

The feral pig has displaced the Laysan Albatross and consumes its egg

“Since late 2022, Pacific Rim Conservation has led a targeted effort to eradicate feral pigs within the predator-exclusion fence at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.  By May 2025, this initiative successfully eliminated the threat posed by feral pigs to the native seabird populations within the fence.  These invasive pigs had been directly responsible for the destruction of numerous nests, including those of the Laysan Albatross (mōlī), Hawaiian Goose (nēnē), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (ʻuaʻu kani), and Red and White-tailed Tropicbirds (koaʻe ʻula & koaʻe kea).”

A feral pig within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge feeds on a Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica in October 2024 (click here)

“The removal of this key predator marks a significant victory in the ongoing restoration of the refuge’s ecosystem, promoting the recovery of native seabird species within this vital habitat.  With feral pigs no longer posing a threat to seabird nesting success, efforts can now focus on long-term monitoring and habitat restoration to ensure these species continue to thrive in their natural environment for generations to come.”

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 13 August 2025

An Antipodean Albatross breeding pair on Antipodes Island, photograph by Erica Sommer

Kalinka Rexer-Huber (Parker Conservation, Dunedin, New Zealand) and colleagues have produced a final report for the Conservation Services Programme of the New Zealand Department of Conservation that details research carried out on Endangered Antipodean Albatrosses Diomedea a. antipodensis and Vulnerable White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis on Antipodes Island during then 2024/25 austral summer.

The report’s summary follows:

“The Antipodean wandering albatross Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis has been in decline since a population crash in 2005–07.  Declining numbers appear to have been largely driven by high female mortality, but low chick production—with fewer birds breeding and reduced breeding success—has compounded the problem.  To tease out the causes of falling numbers of Antipodean wandering albatrosses and identify the effectiveness of potential solutions, research includes an annual visit to the breeding grounds on Antipodes Island.  Alongside this core annual study, we present results from a whole-island survey to estimate the size of the Antipodean albatross population nesting island-wide.  Alongside the albatross research, we are developing a mark-recapture study for white-chinned petrels.  This report describes the results of the annual field programme in the 2024/25 breeding season for both Antipodean albatrosses and white-chinned petrels.

Antipodean wandering albatross. The core annual study involves mark-recapture in an intensively monitored study area and census of the annual count areas.  This season’s field programme allowed updates to the trend in nesting population size, survival, productivity and recruitment.  There are some signs that rates of decline are slowing; for example, the population of breeding pairs was declining at -5.2% per annum (2008–2013), which has slowed to a -1.5% decline in the last decade 2014–2023. The number of Antipodean wandering albatrosses breeding has been roughly stable for the past four seasons, and female survival improved 2010–2019 to approach male survival rates.  Female survival has reached 91.2% (most  recent 4-year average), but this is still lower than for males (92.6%) and remains lower than females’ pre-crash average of 95.9%.  Breeding success in 2024 at 68% approached the average pre-crash nesting success of 74%, although the mean 2006–2024 rate remains comparatively low at 63%.  However, the actual number of chicks produced remains small, even in years with good breeding success, since numbers nesting remains low.  Recruitment is starting to draw from the (much smaller) cohorts produced since the crash, so population numbers will soon no longer be supplemented by higher recruitment rates seen over the past decade.

The last whole-island count of nesting Antipodean albatross took place 1994–96.  To update the whole-island estimate, we built on last year’s effort which combined ground counts and drone aerial photography producing orthomosaics of 77% of the Antipodean albatross breeding habitat.  This season drones were used to obtain photographs of the entire Antipodean albatross breeding habitat on Antipodes Island.  Orthomosaic images were constructed from the photos and the number of albatrosses counted and corrected for pretend-nesters (apparently-nesting birds with no egg) using data from nest-content checks conducted during drone overflight (has-egg rate).  A second correction used the proportion of eggs not yet laid or nests that had failed at the time the photographs were taken (lay-fail rate), using data from regular visits to the study area.  Just 1% of the 1546-ha Antipodean albatross breeding range was not overflown in 2025. Numbers in these unphotographed 22 ha were estimated by categorising nesting-habitat quality across the island, then extrapolating nest densities by habitat-quality class to the unphotographed areas.  The number nesting island-wide in 2025 estimated from drone counts (3,546±254 breeding pairs) and the 3,383±201 annual breeding pairs in 2024 provide two successive estimates that together account for biennial breeding and resulting year-on-year differences.  This is the first time since 1996 that the number of breeding pairs nesting on Antipodes Island have been comprehensively assessed across the island.  The proportion nesting in annual count blocks in 2024 (14%) and 2025 (14.7%) are similar to that recorded 1994–96 (14.9%), indicating that the annual count blocks remain representative of whole-island trends in nest numbers.

Trends in nest numbers and demographic parameters from the c ore annual study indicate that the population has been approximately stable for the last four years.  However, there is so far no evidence of any sustained improvement in Antipodean wandering albatross demography, as required for the population to recover, with tentative improvements recorded here merely slowing the decline.  Recommendations include ongoing mark-recapture monitoring of demographic and population-size trends, and research into causes of declines.  More-targeted ongoing engagement with fishers is also needed to achieve better bycatch mitigation in line with ACAP best practice.

White-chinned petrel.  A mark-recapture study to estimate vital rates, survival in particular, was established in the 2022–23 season.  Substantial effort to grow the mark-recapture study this year mean there are now 367 banded white-chinned petrels in 203 marked burrows in the two study areas.  For accurate, precise survival estimates this marked population needs recaptures at existing marked burrows for a minimum of two more years.  The two years of resighting data obtained to date are not yet enough for mark-recapture modelling to produce a useful survival estimate.  However, summary statistics highlighted the importance of quality monitoring data: startlingly low year-on-year return rates recorded last year (24% of birds that had been in the colony the previous season returned) were 76% this year, closer to the return rates expected for annual breeders.  Burrow reoccupancy was also better than the year prior, with 39% of burrows marked last year reoccupied this season, compared to just 27% the year before, although reoccupancy still appears low compared to the 44–68% recorded at Antipodes Island in a 2007–11 study.”

A White-chinned Petrel breeding pair on Antipodes Island, by Dave Boyle

Reference:

Rexer-Huber, K., Whitehead, E., Walker, K. & Elliott, G. 2025.  Antipodean wandering albatrosses and white-chinned petrels 2025.  Report to Department of Conservation, Conservation Services Programme.  Dunedin: Parker Conservation.  28 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 August 2025