“Three Laysan Albatrosses”, graphite drawing by Lea Finke, after a photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

For the third year in a row, ACAP is collaborating with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce artworks in support of World Albatross Day on 19 June.  This year’s theme of “Climate Change” is featuring two albatross species that breed in the North Pacific, the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis. both considered to be at risk from sea level rise and increases in the number and severity of storms that result in flooding of nests (click here).

Lea Finke, wildlife artist

With ABUN Project #39 “ACAP - World Albatross Day 2022 Climate Change” running during this and next month, ACAP Latest News is pleased to feature here the very first artwork received, a graphite drawing by wildlife artist, Lea Finke, who resides in Bergkamen, Germany.  Lea has already painted all 21 albatross species for ABUN and ACAP as part of World Albatross Day 2020 with its theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”.

Laysan Albatrosses, Midway Atoll, April 2018; photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

In submitting her graphite drawing of three Laysan Albatrosses, Lea writes: “How nice that we have a new project with ACAP.  That is always a very nice collaboration.  Here comes my first contribution.”  Her drawing is after a photograph by Eric Vanderwerf, Director of Science of the Hawaii-based environmental NGO, Pacific Rim Conservation.

Read more about Lea Finke here.

With thanks to Lea Finke, Kitty Harvill, Marion Schön and Eric Vanderwerf.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 January 2022

The Westland Petrel Conservation Trust has reported on its Facebook page on the continued fallout of globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon Westland Petrels Procellaria westlandica fledging in November and December from their sole New Zealand breeding site at Punakaiki due to light pollution, despite street lights being switched off for the fledging season.

Westland Petrel fallout victim near Greymouth in the 2020 breeding season, photograph by Bruce Stuart-Menteath, Chair, Westland Petrel Conservation Trust

.“The Greymouth Evening Star article on 20 December about Westland petrel fallout reveals that greater efforts are needed to publicise the causes of the phenomenon.  Whilst there can be no doubt that turning off the streetlights through Punakaiki has resulted in a reduction of fallout casualties, to call this a "blackout" fails to acknowledge the many residential and commercial lights that remain a problem in the village, and at other fallout sites between Westport and Hokitika.  So far fallout numbers for Punakaiki, at 16, are about the same as last year, while those for Greymouth, at 9, are well below last year's 29.  The peak fledging period has long passed, but there will be a few more fallout cases to come yet.”

Access earlier ACAP Latest News posts on light pollution affecting Westland Petrels from here and here and listen to a radio interview on the “blackout” here.

World Migratory Bird Day for 2022 will have the theme of Light Pollution (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 January 2022

Black-footed Albatross by Eric Vanderwerf and Laysan Albatross by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement has chosen the theme “Climate Change” to mark the third World Albatross Day, to be celebrated on 19 June 2022.  This follows the inaugural theme “Eradicating Island Pests” in 2020 and “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries” last year.  ACAP is pleased to be able to work once more with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) over January and February on its 39th Project (“World Albatross Day 2022 - Climate Change”) to produce artworks that will help increase awareness of the conservation plight facing the world’s albatrosses.

In support of World Albatross Day and its annual themes ACAP highlights one or more of the 22 albatross species each year with posters, infographics and artworks in ACAP’s three official languages of English, French and Spanish.  The featured species chosen for 2022 are two of the three species of albatrosses that breed in the North Pacific: the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis.  Both these Near Threatened albatrosses have most of their breeding populations on the low-lying atolls of the USA’s North-Western Hawaiian Islands.  These atolls - and their breeding seabirds - are all at risk from sea level rise and increases in the number and severity of storms that result in flooding, both considered a consequence of climate change.  Storm floods have even caused at least one small sandy islet to disappear into the sea, taking with it breeding sites for several thousand albatross pairs (click here).  Elsewhere in the island chain, as on Midway Atoll, storms have caused flooding of albatross nests and loss of chicks close to the shore.

This year for WAD2022, ACAP will be working with the Hawaii-based environmental NGO, Pacific Rim Conservation, to feature its ongoing project to create a new albatross colony safe from predicted sea level rise by translocating and hand-rearing Black-footed and Laysan Albatross chicks on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  It is hoped ABUN’s artworks will help draw attention to this work.

With thanks to Kitty Harvill, ABUN Co-founder.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 January 2022

Not proof to cats and rats: the existing Kilauea Point fence behind a Laysan Albatross chick close to fledging. The new gated fence will largely follow the line of the existing fence
Photograph by Louise Barnfield

The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge has announced that work will soon begin on construction of a new 3.4 km-long predator exclusion fence around the refuge boundary, which will help protect the thousands of native birds nesting there from mammalian predators such as feral cats and pigs, domestic dogs, rodents and mongoose.  “Construction will begin in early 2022 and is expected to be complete by September 2023.  The fence will enclose 168 acres [68 ha] of the Refuge and all non-native mammalian predators (cats and rats) will be removed from within the fence boundary.  The fence [will be] tall enough to prevent animals from jumping over, has a curved hood to prevent them from climbing over, mesh that is small enough to prevent animals as small as mice from squeezing through, and a skirt that extends underground to prevent them from digging under it.  All materials will be marine grade stainless steel.”  The total cost of the new fence is given as USD 1.09 million and will be built by Pono Pacific LLC, with the Hawaii-based environmental NGO, Pacific Rim Conservation, acting as project manager.

To be protected: a Laysan Albatross stands over its egg at Kilauea Point; photograph by Jacqueline Olivera

The Kīlauea Point NWR supported a total of 115 pairs of Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis (Near Threatened) in the 2019/20 breeding season, with an overall breeding success of 37.9% (36 fledglings).  This low figure is attributed in part to incursions by feral cats and pigs, the latter causing breaches in the old fence (click here).  The 2020/21 season within the refuge was somewhat better, fledging 61 chicks from 129 nests (47.3%,).  So far this season (2021/22) 90 occupied nests have been counted within the refuge.

Pacific Rim Conservation writes on its Facebook page: “We are thrilled to be partnering with @ponopacific and Pacific Islands: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be building a predator exclusion fence that protects the native ecosystems at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge from invasive mammalian predators.  Kilauea Point is home to tens of thousands of native birds ranging from the endangered Nene Goose, `Ua`u (Hawaiian Petrel), and A`o (Newell's Shearwater) to the Moli (Laysan Albatross) and `Ua`u Kani (Wedge-tailed Shearwater), and all of whom are vulnerable to predation.  Once complete, this will be the largest full predator exclusion fence in the Hawaiian Islands.”

Existing predator-proof fences on Hawaiian islands that protect breeding seabirds, including Laysan Albatrosses, may be found on Oahu (Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve and the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge) and elsewhere within the Kilauea Point NWR at Nihoku.

News from Pacific Rim Conservation and Wild Times, newsletter of Friends of Kaua’i Wildlife Refuges for December 2021.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 December 2021