Smiles behind the masks?  From left: Michelle Risi, Ria Olivier, ACAP's Information Officer and Chris Jones

Most comments received by ACAP suggest that this year’s inaugural World Albatross Day went off well, with the conservation crisis facing albatrosses being brought to the attention of new audiences around the world.  With 19 June now long past it is perhaps surprising there is still a need to thank some of the supporters of ‘WAD2020’: we can blame COVID-19 pandemic for that!  ACAP’s Information Officer has been largely self-isolating in his Cape Town home during 2021, but with South Africa easing restrictions by moving to Level One last month he has been able cautiously to get out to thank colleagues for their WAD2020 contributions – at a social distance in the open air of course.

This week he met up with Michelle Risi, who had returned a few days previously from two years working for the Gough Island Restoration Programme (GIRP) on the island (click here) to offer his personal and ACAP’s thanks for her support of WAD2020 and to hand over some albatross posters and postcards.  Indeed, the original impetus for a World Albatross Day came from Michelle’s suggestion, and following her co-option to ACAP’s WAD Intersessional Group she persuaded her contacts to help by designing pro bono a WAD2020 logo by commercial artist Geoffry Tyler and a poster by award-winning illustrator Owen Davey.  Along with Melanie Wells from Australia, she led on setting up the popular World Albatross Day Great Albicake Bake Off – and baking a couple of cakes for the competition herself.  Michelle is an excellent photographer, and some of her best work has been made into WAD2020 posters as well inspiring artworks by the Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) group.

Michelle Risi meets a globally Endangered Sooty Albatross on mountainous Gough Island

Michelle and husband Chris Jones hope to return to Gough next year to help with the GIRP mouse eradication exercise, called off this year as a consequence of the pandemic causing a disruption of international travel.

With grateful thanks to Ria Olivier of the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa project which sponsored the printing of WAD2020 posters and postcards as well as donating island books published by ALSA as competition prizes.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 October 2020

A banded Flesh-footed Shearwater at night on Ohinau Island, photograph by Kaila Ritchie

Patrick Crowe (Wildlife Management International, Blenheim, New Zealand) has reported to the Conservation Service Programme of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation on research conducted on two breeding populations of the globally Near Threatened Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carnepeis

The report’s abstract follows:

“This report covers the findings from the second of three years’ flesh-footed shearwater (Puffinus carneipes) research under Conservation Services Programme project POP2018-04. Here we report on the ongoing population monitoring of flesh-footed shearwaters on Ohinau and Lady Alice Islands and the results of GPS tracking of breeding birds from both islands.

During the 2019/20 breeding seasons we monitored 274 and 288 study burrows on Ohinau and Lady Alice Islands respectively.  A total of 216 study burrows on Ohinau Island were breeding and we were able to identify 408 of the 432 (94%) partners occupying these study burrows.  On Lady Alice Island, 202 study burrows were breeding and 358 of 404 (89%) of partners occupying these study burrows were identified.  We were unable to determine breeding success for the 2019/20 season but the rate of failure during incubation in January was similar to the 2018/19 season.

Breeding flesh-footed shearwaters were tracked simultaneously on Ohinau and Lady Alice Islands during the incubation and chick-rearing stages. On Ohinau Island, GPS devices were deployed on 26 individuals during incubation and 27 individuals during chick-rearing and this yielded 21 tracks and 50 tracks respectively.  On Lady Alice Island, GPS devices were deployed on 29 individuals during incubation and 34 individuals during chick-rearing and this yielded 20 tracks and 55 tracks respectively.

The average length of incubation foraging trips was 11.8 days and 4665 km for Ohinau Island birds and 16.6 days and 4734 km for Lady Alice Island birds. Lady Alice birds undertook significantly longer trips in respect to duration.  The average length of foraging trips during chick-rearing was 3.1 days and 1205 km for Ohinau birds, and was 4.8 days and 1536 km for Lady Alice birds. There was considerable variation in all aspects of foraging trips during chick-rearing which is likely due to a dual-foraging strategy.

There was considerable overlap of foraging areas between Ohinau and Lady Alice birds indicating that birds from different populations mix at sea during the breeding season.  All birds from Ohinau Island foraged either down the East Coast of the North Island or out towards the Louisville Ridge. During incubation, nearly half of Lady Alice birds foraged in the same locations while the remaining birds foraged inshore off the West Coast of the North Island or offshore in the Tasman Sea. During chick-rearing, areas closer to each of the colonies had greater importance but birds still utilised some of the more distant foraging locations identified during incubation in order to maintain their own body weight and condition.”

The Flesh-footed Shearwater has been identified as a potential candidate for ACAP listing (click here).

Reference:

Crowe, P. 2020.  Flesh-footed shearwater population monitoring and at-sea distribution: 2019/20 season.  Blenheim: Wildlife Management International Ltd.  39 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 October 2020

Balearic Shearwater at sea, photograph by Pep Arcos

R. Costa (Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal) and colleagues have published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin on entangled seabirds received by a rehabilitation centre in Portugal, including six out of 77 Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwaters Puffinus mauretanicus.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Plastic pollution and the subsequent entanglement of marine animals is a global and increasing problem.  In this study we present an analysis of the seabirds recorded as entangled by a rehabilitation centre and an associated marine animal stranding network, along the central coast of Portugal, between 2008 and 2018.  Results show a high annual rate of entangled seabirds (average 6.9%) compared to other studies and fisheries related materials are a relevant cause of seabird entanglement (82%) compared to other debris.  When comparing age classes, juveniles were more vulnerable to entanglement than other age classes in the species studied.  Regarding the rehabilitation of entangled seabirds, the release rate was higher in non-fishing material entanglement cases.  In conclusion, this study highlights the impact of fisheries related material on marine fauna and the need for reinforcement of the existing legislation for protecting seabirds and the implementation of mitigation measures associated with fishing activities.”

Reference:

Costa, R.A., Sá, S., Pereira, A.T., Ângelo, A.R., Vaqueiro, J., Ferreira, M. & Eira, C. 2020.  Prevalence of entanglements of seabirds in marine debris in the central Portuguese coast.  Marine Pollution Bulletin doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111746.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 October 2020

A Hawaiian Petrel chick is placed in a carrying box ready for its helicoper flight down the mountain, photograph by Jennifer Rothe, Kaua'i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project

Following “a hike, a quick helicopter ride and a road trip” and despite some challenges with the weather, the first day of translocating globally Endangered Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis from the mountainous Hono o Na Pali Natural Area Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Kauai last week was declared a success by the Kaua'i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project.  Twelve downy chicks were transferred to their new home within the predator-proof fence at the coastal Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project site with a further eight chicks collected the next day and placed in artificial burrows.  For the next 30-60 days the chicks will be hand fed and cared for by the Pacific Rim Conservation’s translocation team.  The 20 petrel chicks form the sixth and final instalment of translocations aimed at creating a new seabird colony at Nihoku within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

“Keeping Hawai’i Wild”

“Artificial Burrows: Technology for Conservation”

“First Flight: Hawaiian Petrels Journey to Safety”- videos produced by the American Bird Conservancy

Another Hawaiian endemic, the globally Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwaters Puffinus newelli, has also been the target of chick translocations to the Nihoku site each year since 2016.  Over half of the 20 shearwaters translocated this year have now fledged.  Which of the two threatened seabird species will be the first to breed within the fence – perhaps the petrel as already several fledglings of the 2017 cohort have been seen back in their “childhood” burrows as returning adults?  But maybe both will be pipped by the three Kermadec Petrels P. neglecta which were unexpectedly filmed a few months ago exhibiting breeding behaviour on the ground inside the fenced area.  If they do this itwill be “the first breeding record for not only Hawai’i but the entire Northern Hemisphere” for this southern hemisphere gadfly petrel.

The Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Projectis a multi-partner effort of the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, Pacific Rim Conservation, Hono O Nā Pali Natural Area Reserve, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Division of Forestry & Wildlife, University of Hawaii at Manoa, The Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Pacific Islands: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge,  American Bird Conservancy and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Information from the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project and Pacific Rim Conservation Facebook pages.  With thanks to Andre Raine and Lindsay Young.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 October 2020