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title: "A translocated and hand-fed Chatham Albatross gets photographed in South American waters"
---

# A translocated and hand-fed Chatham Albatross gets photographed in South American waters

A juvenile [Chatham Albatross](http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/chatham-albatross-thalassarche-eremita) *Thalassarche eremita *banded with black, white-engraved alphanumeric colour band E17 on the right leg and a metal band on the left leg was photographed by Matias Garrido on a pelagic trip run by [Albatross Birding ](http://www.albatross-birding.com/)[and Nature Tours](http://www.albatross-birding.com/) out of Valparaiso, Chile on 10 December ([click here](http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32967737?share=true) for the trip report).

 ![](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/C/Chatham/Chatham_Albatross_translocated_fledgling.jpg)

 E17 off South America, photograph by Matias Garrido

 ![](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/C/Chatham/Chatham_Chick_E17.jpg) 

 E17 on its artificial nest prior to fledging, photograph by Danny Burgin

 The bird was one of 50 chicks transferred from New Zealand’s [Pyramid](http://www.acap.aq/en/news/news-archive/60-2013-news-archive/1315-acap-breeding-sites-no-9-the-pyramid-chatham-islands-new-zealand?highlight=WyJweXJhbWlkIiwibm8iLCInbm8iXQ==) (the species’ sole breeding site) to Point Gap on the main Chatham Island back in February, part of a [Chatham Island Taiko Trust](http://www.taiko.org.nz/) project trying to establish a second colony.  After being fed for two months it fledged in April this year, the third year of the translocation project ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/en/search14?q=Point+Gap)).  It is intended to continue translocations for a further two years. 

 “It’s fantastic to know the transferred chicks can cross the Pacific to spend the winter off South America even though it will still be a few years before birds from the first year [2014] return to the Chathams.”

 Information taken from Facebook pages - with thanks.

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 December 2016*