Falklands Conservation is a small non-governmental organisation affiliated to BirdLife International that works to protect wildlife in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*.  “We undertake practical conservation projects, surveys and scientific studies, conduct annual monitoring of seabird populations, rehabilitate oiled penguins, publish guides and information on many aspects of the Falkland Islands environment, and involve Islanders of all ages in our activities.”  ACAP Latest News has been in touch with the NGO over next year’s inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June.

In response, the NGO’s Chief Executive Officer, Esther Bertram has written in support of the day to ACAP Latest News: “Get ready for World Albatross Day on 19 June 2020.  A chance to celebrate these fabulous birds.  Living into their 60s, having the longest wingspan of any bird, spending much of their life in the air and being ridiculously attractive, what’s not to like?!”

 Conservation Manager Andy Stanworth at Falklands Conservation writes: “The first World Albatross Day will raise awareness of the significant threats and challenges currently facing these amazing birds.  Let’s hope that in the future it is simply to celebrate them!”

 Falkland Conservation’s Conservation Officer, Sarah Crofts, who works on penguin and albatross monitoring in the islands, has also commented to ACAP Latest News: “World Albatross Day brings awareness on the global conservation plight of these extraordinarily long-lived ocean navigators.  It also celebrates the efforts achieved by scientists, conservationists, governments and industry working together to sustain albatross populations into the future.”

 Three ACAP-listed species breed in the Falkland Islands: Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris, Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus and White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis.  ACAP is exploring with Falklands Conservation how to collaborate further on raising awareness of the inaugural World Albatross Day next year, centred on these three species.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 November 2019

*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.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is sourcing hoods for the street lights around Punakaiki on the western coast of South Island to minimise the fallout problem for the globally Endangered and ACAP-listed Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica.

A downed Westland Petrel fledgling is released to sea the next day

The existing lights have led to groundings of fledglings in past seasons, with some birds then being hit and killed by vehicles at night (click here).

"Westland petrel chicks are leaving the nest for the first time between November and January and can be disorientated by lights and poor weather at the very start of their long journey to South America.  90% of petrels found downed due to disorientation by lights are fledglings.  Tragically, many are disorientated by vehicle or street lights and come down on roads.  Black birds on a black road at night are highly likely to be involved in a collision and are often killed.  They also need height to launch themselves, so if they come down on the road, they are likely to be stranded" (read more here).

Information from the Westland Petrel Conservation Trust.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 November 2019

Earlier in the year ACAP's Advisory Committee declared that a conservation crisis continues to be faced by its 31 listed species, with thousands of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters dying every year as a result of fishery operations.  To increase awareness of this crisis ACAP will inaugurate a World Albatross Day to be held annually on 19 June from 2020, the date the Agreement was signed in 2004.

In order to increase awareness of and gain support for next year’s inauguration, ACAP has been contacting various non-governmental organizations and bodies around the world which are involved with issues relating to the conservation of seabirds, especially of those albatrosses and their kin of the order Procellariiformes.  The Word Seabird Union (WSU) is one of these NGOs which has responded positively.  The Union was founded during the 1st World Seabird Conference, held in Victoria, Canada in 2010, which was followed by a second conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa in 2015 (the third conference in the series will follow next year in Hobart, Australia).  The WSU's mission is to place seabird research, management, and conservation into a worldwide perspective.  “Our vision is to aid in creating global partnerships that will continue into the future by sharing research, knowledge, and ideas on a global level”.

Patrick Jodice of the South Carolina Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at Clemson University in the USA is the current Chair of the World Seabird Union.  He writes to ACAP Latest News:  “The World Seabird Union fully supports World Albatross Day and the many people and organizations who have dedicated so much energy and time to studying, conserving, and protecting these imperilled seabirds.  Much remains to be done, so please consider how you or your organization can contribute to this globally important effort.”

The Chair’s statement is matched by that from Nicholas Carlile of Australia, who is the WSU’s Vice-Chair:  “World Albatross Day is an opportunity to celebrate all that is amazing, humbling and beautiful about this enigmatic group of seabirds.  With so many species close to being lost forever, we must remain vigilant, energetic and forthright in our defence of their survival and ability to flourish in our changing world”

The WSU’s Treasurer, Betty Anne Schreiber (Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History) has also been in contact: “the World Seabird Union fully supports a World Albatross Day to help draw attention to the conservation of albatrosses.  Because most breed on remote islands, many people never get to see an albatross and are unaware that we are losing these charismatic ocean wanderers owing to human-caused pressures”.

Support from the World Seabird Union follows on from similar commitments received from a number of other environmental NGOs, including the American Bird Conservancy, Australasian Seabird Group, BirdLife South Africa, Humane Society International Australia, Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, the Pacific Seabird Group and Projeto Albatroz.  ACAP will liaise with all these and other NGOs as well as with Party governmental agencies and departments over planning and holding activities as the first World Albatross Day approaches.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 November 2019

Ben Dilley (FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues have published in the journal Antarctic Science on methods of surveying burrow-breeding petrels, including ACAP-listed and globally Vulnerable White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis, at Marion Island.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“We compared systematic and random survey techniques to estimate breeding population sizes of burrow-nesting petrel species on Marion Island. White-chinned (Procellaria aequinoctialis) and blue (Halobaena caerulea) petrel population sizes were estimated in systematic surveys (which attempt to count every colony) in 2009 and 2012, respectively. In 2015, we counted burrows of white-chinned, blue and great-winged (Pterodroma macroptera) petrels within 52 randomized strip transects (25 m wide, total 144 km). Burrow densities were extrapolated by Geographic Information System-derived habitat attributes (geology, vegetation, slope, elevation, aspect) to generate island-wide burrow estimates. Great-winged petrel burrows were found singly or in small groups at low densities (2 burrows ha−1); white-chinned petrel burrows were in loose clusters at moderate densities (3 burrows ha−1); and blue petrel burrows were in tight clusters at high densities (13 burrows ha−1). The random survey estimated 58% more white-chinned petrels but 42% fewer blue petrels than the systematic surveys. The results suggest that random transects are best suited for species that are widely distributed at low densities, but become increasingly poor for estimating population sizes of species with clustered distributions. Repeated fixed transects provide a robust way to monitor changes in colony density and area, but might fail to detect the formation/disappearance of new colonies.”

White-chinned Petrels, photograph by Ben Phalan

Reference:

Dilley, B.J., Hedding, D.W., Henry, D.A.W., Rexer-Huber, K., Parker, G.C., Schoombie, S., Osborne, A. & Ryan, P.G. 2019.  Clustered or dispersed: testing the effect of sampling strategy to census burrow-nesting petrels with varied distributions at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Antarctic Science doi:10.1017/S0954102019000415.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 November 2019