The juvenile Grey-headed Albatross that reached Olaithoduvai, Sri Lanka, photographed by Lahiru Walpita, from the journal cover

Lahiru Walpita and Moditha Kodikara Arachchi have published in the correspondence section of the journal Indian Birds on the sighting of a juvenile Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma off the coast of Sri Lanka on 22 July 2024.  The bird approached as close as 50 m from the shore at the Olaithoduvai fishing village from where it was photographed.

As the article suggests, this seems to be the first definite record of this Southern Ocean albatross north of the equator (click here).

Reference:

Walpita, L. & Arachchi, M.K. 2024.  The Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma from Sri Lanka.  Indian Birds 20: 140-141.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 December 2024

A Buller’s Albatross floating on the water; photograph by Enzo M.R. Reyes

Enzo M.R. Reyes (Marine Bycatch and Threats Team, Department of Conservation, National Office, Aotearoa New Zealand) and colleagues have published in the journal Notornis on the movement of Thalassarche albatrosses and Procellaria petrels between New Zealand and Ecuador.

The paper’s abstract follows, 

"Albatrosses and petrels are among the most endangered seabird species worldwide. They face threats such as plastic ingestion, bycatch in fisheries, invasive predators at breeding sites, light pollution, and climate change. Many seabird species from Aotearoa New Zealand migrate to the eastern Pacific waters during the non-breeding season, following the abundant food availability of the Humboldt current. In this article, we compile observations of Thalassarche and Procellaria petrels in Ecuadorian waters from five information sources such as incidental tourist vessel observations, incidental fishermen observations, beach patrols, seawatching and GLS loggers. We provide strong evidence of the presence of Salvin’s albatross and White-chinned petrel in Ecuador, two species previously considered hypothetical for the country’s official bird list. Additionally, we present photographic evidence of a live Southern Buller’s albatross in Ecuador and document further observations of the black petrel, including its interactions with local fisheries. These records emphasize the importance of enhancing monitoring efforts to gain a deeper understanding of the ecology and conservation of Ecuador’s seabirds. They also highlight the necessity and advantages of collaboration between New Zealand and Ecuador concerning highly mobile bird species."

Figure 3. b) from the paper. Salvin’s albatross track during October 2018 to October 2019 from New Zealand Hauriri Bounty Islands colonies in the subantarctic islands to South America and reaching Ecuadorian waters.

The paper is available to download at the Ornithological Society for New Zealand's website.

Reference:

Reyes, E.M.R., Giovanardi, S., Suarez-Espin. G., Haase, B., Rexer-Huber, K., Parker, G., Sagar, P. & Fischer, J.H. 2024. Where do some Aotearoa New Zealand seabirds go? Records of Thalassarche albatrosses and Procellaria petrels in Ecuadorian waters. Notornis 71(3): 69–75.

11 December 2024

A White-chinned Petrel among tussac on Top Island, photograph by Kalinka Rexer-Huber

Amanda Kuepfer (Falklands Conservation) and colleagues have published a report of a survey of Vulnerable and ACAP-listed White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis and of Sooty Shearwaters Ardenna grisea on two islands, Kidney and Top, within the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*. The research was undertaken to “fulfil international commitments under the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) to monitor and manage ACAP breeding sites.”

The survey results from the summary follow:

“Kidney Island 2023/2024

- Sooty shearwater population size = 131,000 (95% CI: 95,000 – 176,000) breeding pairs.  This estimate is not notably different from 2016 (123,000; 95% CI: 87,000 – 167,000 breeding pairs), and gives no strong indication of an important increase or decrease in breeding pairs at this site.

- White-chinned petrel population size = 331 (95% CI: 52 – 1043) breeding pairs.  This represents a baseline estimate using a model-based approach.

Top Island 2023/2024

- Sooty shearwater population size = 12,000 (95% CI: 7,000 – 19,000) breeding pairs.  This represents a baseline estimate.

- White-chinned petrel population size = 199 (95% CI: 33 – 594) breeding pairs. This represents a baseline estimate”.

The summary ends with management recommendations:

“Sooty shearwaters were found in greater numbers in areas with dense tussac over peat, while white-chinned petrels were most numerous in areas of tussac peat with higher moisture content.  Additionally, like most burrowing seabirds, these species are susceptible to invasive mammals and other non-native species due to predation and habitat loss.  Effective site management for sooty shearwater and white-chinned petrels should focus on preserving healthy tussac habitat, maintaining suitable peat condition for burrowing, and ensuring the continued absence of invasive mammals.  Biosecurity efforts should further aim to minimise the risk of introducing invasive plants, invertebrates and pathogens.  Additional monitoring efforts to further refine population estimates and track habitat availability could be considered.”

Read an earlier article in ACAP Latest News on the surveys here.

Reference:

Kuepfer, A., Lee, B. & Stanworth, A. 2024.  Burrowing Seabird Survey 2023/2024: Population Estimates of Sooty Shearwaters and White-chinned Petrels on Kidney Island and Top Island, Falkland Islands.  Stanley: Falklands Conservation.  50 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 10 December 2024

*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.

Northern Fulmar at sea

Susanne Kühn and Jan van Franeker (Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, the Netherlands) have written to ACAP Latest News on the findings of their lab’s long-standing work on plastic pollution in Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis during 2023:

“In 2023 a total of 32 corpses could be recovered, of which 26 contained an intact stomach.  In addition we report on 6 birds found in 2021 and 2022 (5 with stomach) that arrived in our lab too late for inclusion in our earlier reports.  In order to avoid unstable annual variations, we always describe the ‘current situation’ in our monitoring analyses as the average over the past five years.  From 2019 to 2023 we studied a total of 231 stomachs of which 94% contained plastics, and 53% contained more than 0.1 g of plastic.  The international policy target is that this latter percentage has to be reduced to under 10%.  The average fulmar stomach currently contains 24 plastic particles, weighing 0.27 g.  Measured over the past 10 years, we cannot document a significant decline in ingested plastic mass.  However, the longer term trend 2002-2023 of annual proportions of birds exceeding the 0.1g level, does show a significant decline (p=0.027) predicting that the 10% policy target might be reached around the year 2087.”

A belly full of plastic

“More than 9 our of 10 beachwashed Northern Fulmars has plastic in the stomach.  Usually it concerns smaller quantities of some tenths of grams of plastic.  However, some birds have so much plastic in the stomach that at opening of the corpse the litter is immediately evident. This short video illustrates the exceptional [record] of a fulmar found during 2022 in the Netherlands”.

In 2023, ACAP adopted the theme of “Plastic Pollution” to mark World Albatross Day on 19 June.

With thanks to Susanne Kühn and Jan van Franeker, Wageningen Marine Research.

References:

Kühn, S., Meijboom, A., Bittner, O. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2024.  Fulmar Litter Monitoring in the Netherlands – Update 2023.  Wageningen Marine Research Report C042/24 and RWS Centrale Informatievoorziening Report BM 24.15.  Den Helder, The Netherlands. 54 pp.

Van Franeker, J.A., Kühn, S., Meijboom, A. & Bittner, O. 2024.  Fulmar Finders Information - Netherlands 2023.  Den Helder, The Netherlands:Wageningen Marine Research.  48 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 December 2024