Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis have been doing well this breeding season with record numbers reported for the atolls in the North-western Hawaiian Islands (click here).

A Laysan Albatross family at Kaena Point, photograph by Lindsay Young

Relatively few Laysans breed on the inhabited main islands in the Hawaiian chain but those that do are of conservation significance because their breeding sites are less at risk to sea-level rise caused by climate change.  Good news then that at least one of these colonies, at Oahu’s Kaena Point where the birds are protected by a predator-proof fence, is also having a record year, as reported last month by Hawaiian journalist Susan Scott in her regular blog, Ocean Watch:

“Lindsay Young and Eric Vanderwerf report this is a record year for Laysan albatrosses inside the fence: 94 couples are nesting, accompanied by uncounted adolescents there to sing, dance and find a mate.  The birds that come to Kaena are not just offspring of the local population.  Many are explorers displaced from other islands and searching for a new place to breed.  Because albatross pioneers are mostly females, Kaena Point hosts more females than males.  Young and Vanderwerf determined that about one-third of the nesters there are female-female pairs successfully raising chicks.”

Sue Scott poses with her artwork made out of cigarette lighters ingested by Laysan Albatrosses

With thanks to Lindsay Young, Pacific Rim Conservation, for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 February 2015

ACAP Latest News has previously reported on vagrant albatrosses of the mollymawk genus Thalassarche turning up in colonies of other mollymawk species (click here).

One of these species, the Salvin’s Albatross T. salvini, has been recorded as a vagrant on a number of islands in the Southern Ocean, including on Gough Island (click here) and as referenced below.

The first Salvin’s Albatross reported from Gough Island was photographed ashore on 21 October 2008 on the slopes of Richmond Hill loafing among breeding Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses T. chlororhynchos.

First record of a Salvin's Albatross on Gough, photographs by Paul Visser 

The second record for the island was made on 17 January this year when an adult Salvin’s Albatross was seen on the lower slopes of Richmond Hill near Prion Cave and then again two days later on a rock in the Gony River above Swemgat when it was measured (bill, wing and tarsus), banded (SAFRING No. 9A-69251) and photographed.

Second record of a Salvin's Albatross on Gough Island, photographs by Michelle Risi

Although it is quite possible the two sightings are of the same bird there appears to be no way of confirming this, as the bird seen in 2008 was not banded.

With thanks to Chris Jones, Michelle Risi and Paul Visser for information and photographs.

References:

Arata, J. 2003.  New record of Salvin's Albatross (Thalassarche salvini) at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile.  Notornis 50: 169-171.

Jouventin, P. 1990.  Shy Albatrosses Diomedea cauta salvini breeding on Penguin Island, Crozet Archipelago, Indian Ocean.  Ibis 132: 126-127.

Prince, P.A. & Croxall, J.P. 1983.  Birds of South Georgia: new records and re-evaluations of status.  British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 59: 15-27.

Prince, P.A. & Croxall, J.P. 1996.  The birds of South Georgia.  Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 116: 81-104.

Shirihai, H. 2007.  A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife.  The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean.  London: A & C Black.

Visser, P., Louw, H., Cuthbert, R.[J.] & Ryan, P.[G.] 2009.  Salvin’s Albatross Thalassarche salvini on Gough Island, South Atlantic.  Bulletin of the African Bird Club 16: 215-216.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 January 2015

The following text is précised and adapted from a report by BirdLife International.

About 20 participants from Cape Verde, Senegal, South Africa, Spain and Portugal participated in a workshop in Mindelo, Cape Verde from 1st to 4th December 2014, aiming to develop the Cape Verde Shearwater Species Action Plan.

The Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii is a breeding endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, recently recognised as a full species after being split from Scopoli's Shearwater C. diomedea.  The species is classified as Near Threatened and is protected by law in Cape Verde.  Unauthorised entrance to the islets of Raso and Branco, where the largest known breeding colonies are situated, is officially illegal, but there are limited means of enforcement or control of the law.  Uncontrolled high levels of hunting, poaching at main nesting sites, light pollution, invasive species and accidental mortality due to fisheries are the main threats that continue to threaten the species.

The Ministry of Environment of Cape Verde, in collaboration with a local NGO, Associaçao para Defesa do Meio Ambiente (Biosfera I) and with the support of BirdLife International and International Foundation of Banc d'Arguin (FIBA), organised a four-day workshop to identify conservation priorities.

Cape Verde Shearwaters, photograph by Jacob González-Solís

The goal of the Cape Verde Shearwater Species Action Plan is to improve the Cape Verde Shearwater's conservation status, by raising it from the Near Threatened to the Least Concern category. The following objectives were agreed upon at the workshop:

• to reduce chick mortality due to hunting;
• to improve knowledge of distribution, population size and demographic trends;
• to restore and protect breeding sites from invasive species;
• to reduce mortality linked to light pollution;
• to improve knowledge on mortality in different fisheries; and
• to reduce mortality of birds in Cape Verde fisheries.

Workshop participants visited the Sinagoga fishing community on Santo Antao Island.  This gave everyone a chance to meet the former poachers of Cagarra (the local name for Cape Verde Shearwater) and to get an understanding of the socio-economics of fishing and poaching.  The fishing group is now working with Biosfera by taking the lead in conservation of the species and participating in its monitoring.

The institutions and organisations participating in the workshop committed themselves to implementing some of the activities identified in the plan and also accepted responsibility for communicating it widely to other stakeholders.

Click here for an earlier account on the action plan for the Cape Verde Shearwater

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 January 2015

Last month a helicopter from a visiting ship was used to survey the Barff Peninsula on South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* for any remaining alien Reindeer Rangifer tarandus after two seasons of hunting during which over 6600 animals were removed (click here).  Reindeer were introduced nearly a century ago by Norwegian whalers.  Twenty-one animals were seen from the air towards the northern tip of the peninsula during the flight (click here).  Two Norwegian marksmen were to have arrived on the island earlier this month to shoot these last few animals.

A Reindeer on South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*, photograph by  Kirk Zufelt

Meanwhile on the rodent eradication scene the South Georgia Heritage Trust has been awarded a quarter of a million pounds towards the final phase of its Habitat Restoration Project from the Darwin Plus Fund (click here).  The grant will contribute towards personnel, travel, accommodation and operating costs of Team Rat’s efforts to eradicate Norwegian or Brown Rats Rattus norvegicus and House Mice Mus musculus from the island and for assessing the recovery of the endemic and Near Endangered South Georgia Pipit Anthus antarcticus.

The Habitat Restoration Project commenced in 2011 and has been estimated at costing around UK£ 7.5 million in total.  Phase three is now underway with the dropping of poison bait by helicopter in the island’s southern region expected to start next month (click here).

A Team Rat helicopter spreads poison bait

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 January 2015

*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.