Water bombing the remaining hotspots on Amsterdam Island, April 2025, photograph by Elliott Bars, TAAF

ACAP Latest News has been reporting on the wildfire that burnt much of France’s Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean earlier this year, causing the island to be evacuated of its scientific and support staff as a precautionary measure.  The recent media release dated 28 April from Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF) has some more positive news for the island’s threetened albatrosses.  The following information comes via Google Translate.

“The Marion Dufresne, a supply ship for the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF), has just completed an eight-day stopover on Amsterdam Island, which has been evacuated since 16 January due to a vegetation fire directly threatening the Martin-de-Viviès base.  The restoration of the base's essential facilities (water, energy, fire protectio and telecommunications) and the extinguishing of the three hot spots persisting within the extended perimeter of the base have enabled a mission of 14 technical and military personnel to remain on the island.”

The last three hot spots persisting around the Antonelli Crater, two kilometres from the base, were detected and extinguished with the support of a helicopter equipped with a "Bambi Bucket" water-dropping system.  An inspection carried out by two firefighters at the Pointe Bénédicte site where the fire started, however, did not determine the causes of the blaze.  A thermal imaging camera flight over the island revealed that no other hotspots are currently active on the island.  The flight confirmed that the fire had spared the most sensitive habitats for birdlife, including: the plateau des Tourbières, breeding locality of the Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis, a species endemic to the island; and the falaises d’Entrecasteaux, a breeding site of the Endangered Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross eThalassarche carteri and the Endangered Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca.

“Amsterdam Awareness”, watercolour of an Amsterdam Albatross chick by Kitty Harvill of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 19 June 2025, after a photograph by Jérémy Dechartre

“The flight over the eastern part of the island, however, confirmed that approximately 90% of the Phylica arborea forest, the only native tree in the French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve, were affected by the fire.  On the scientific front, teams from the French Polar Institute (IPEV) winterized and assessed the scientific facilities on the base and at the Pointe Bénédicte site.   The two refuges managed by the IPEV (Del Cano and Entrecasteaux), which were spared by the fire, were also winterized.  All of these operations helped secure the base.  In light of these results, the Prefect, the senior administrator of the TAAF (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), authorized the continued presence on the island of the district chief, the base doctor, and a team of 12 technical and military personnel who will be relieved during the Marion Dufresne's next visit to the area in August.”

ACAP Latest News will keep a lookout for further news, including whether field biologists will return to the island in August, allowing for monitoring and population censuses of the island’s ACAP-listed albatrosses and other breeding seabirds to be undertaken.  It should also allow continued tracking for signs of any rodents that might have survived last year’s eradication operation.

The Amsterdam and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses are the “feature species” for this year’s World Albatross Day on 19 June, with its theme of “Effects of Disease”. Both albatrosses are threatened by diseases on Amsterdam Island.

With thanks to Susan Micol.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 01 May 2025

V917 investigates a sun shade lean to used by chicks  in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu, photograph from Pacific Rim Conservation

A Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes was translocated as a chick from Midway Atoll to the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu in 2020 where it was hand fed  until it fledged bearing colour band V917.  Now the bird has been seen back in the refuge this year as a five-year old.

Pacific Rim Conservation states on its Facebook page  “Ka’upu spend the first 2-6 years at sea before returning to their breeding grounds.  We hope V917 will find a mate and start nesting in the near future!”

Returning translocated Black-footed Albatrosses courting in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, photograph by Eric VanderWerf

Black-footed Albatrosses from earlier cohorts out of 100 translocated over the period 2017-2021 from Midway and Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals in the North Western Hawaiian Island chain have been recorded back in the James Campbell NWR (click here), with courting and mutual displays observed.   Read more about the translocation of Black-footed Albatrosses and three other seabird species within  the refuge by Pacific Rim Conserrvation here.

References:

VanderWerf, E.A., Young, L.C., Kohley, C.R., Dalton, M.E., Fisher, R., Fowlke, L., Donohue, S. & Dittmar, E. 2019.  Establishing Laysan and black-footed albatross breeding colonies using translocation and social attraction.  Global Ecology and Conservation doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00667.

Young, L.C., VanderWerf, E.S., Dittmar, E.M., Kohley, R., Goodale, K., Plentovich, S.M. & MacPherson, L. 2024.  Status of Laysan and Black-Footed Albatrosses on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i.  Pacific Science 78: 103-117.

 John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 April 2025

 
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross by Lea Finke of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 2020, after a photograph by Alexis Osborne

Chris Haney (Terra Mar Applied Sciences, Washington, DC, USA) and colleagues have reviewed the occurrence of seabirds in the Gulf of Mexico, publishing in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology.  Among the birds covered is the ACAP-listed Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororynchos, with a summary given of nine published records from the Gulf of Mexico or vicinity.  No albatrosses were seen during the actual at-sea surveys conducted.  The publication also gives information on 17 species of storm petrels, petrels and shearwaters, including a single published record of an ACAP-listed White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis that was collected alive from the surf zone in Texas but died during rehabilitation,

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The birds in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have long been poorly studied.  Given statutory obligations to protect migratory birds and endangered species, three broad-scale vessel and aerial programs initiated since 2010 have now surveyed the entire northern Gulf. Vessel coverage alone exceeds 700 d and 74,000 km of observer effort using 300-m strip transects. We supplemented these survey data with earlier, smaller-scale studies, eBird checklists, literature reviews, and other less accessible sources to create snapshot summaries of relative abundance, seasonal occurrence, and regional distribution for 117 taxa of marine and water birds reported from the northern Gulf (113 of which were substantiated with physical evidence). Using taxonomic and functional criteria, we identified 56 taxa characteristic of open shelf, slope, and pelagic waters (federal jurisdiction), 41 taxa with primarily coastal affinities (state and federal jurisdiction), and 20 taxa of sea and diving ducks.  High species richness of marine birds in the northern Gulf is attributed to (1) a temperate-to-tropical gradient facilitating diverse marine environments year-round; (2) varied geographic origins of marine bird species using the Gulf; and (3) a mostly enclosed sea basin acting as a vagrant trap for wide-ranging species.  Our taxonomic list and status updates seek to bridge information gaps for marine birds now subject to accelerated commercial uses of this region's continental shelf, including newly proposed offshore wind energy development.  Other applications include guiding risk and vulnerability assessments of Gulf marine birds, providing core content for seabird observer training, and prioritizing environmental impact reviews and monitoring programs in offshore energy construction and operations plans.”

An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross broods its chick on Gough Island, photograph by Chris Jones

Click here for records of albatrosses, including the Atlantic Yellow-nosed, that have crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere in the Atlantic Ocean.  Records featured in ACAP Latest News include birds from Canada and the United Kingdom

Reference:

Haney, J.C., Michael, P.E., Gleason, J., Wilson, R.R., Satgé, Y. G., Hixson, K.M. & Jodice, P.G.R. 2025.  Relative abundance, seasonal occurrence, and distribution of marine birds in the northern Gulf of Mexico.  Marine Ornithology 53: 189-206.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 29 April 2025

The latest ACAP Species Infographic, the 19th to be produced in the 31-species series, is for the Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis.  Along with the equally Endangered Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche carteri it has been chosen as one of the “feature species” for this year’s World Albatross Day on 19 June, with its theme of “Effects of Disease”

“Connection”, watercolour of three Amsterdam Albatrosses by Flavia Barreto of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature for ABUN Project 49, after a photograph by Dominique Filippi

As for all previous infographics it is also being produced in the official ACAP languages of French and Spanish. These versions will be released soon.

Amsterdam Albatrosses interact in France’s Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean, photograph by Dominique Filippi

The ACAP Species Infographic series has been designed to help inform the public, including school learners, of the threats faced by albatrosses and petrels and what is being and can be done to combat them.  They serve to complement the more detailed and referenced ACAP Species Assessments, the concise and illustrated ACAP Species Summaries and the ACAP Photo Essay series.  English and Portuguese language versions of the infographics produced to date are available to download here.  French and Spanish versions can be found in their respective language menus for the website under Infographies sur les espèces and Infographía sobres las especies.

The 19 infographics produced to date may be freely downloaded at a high resolution to allow for printing professionally in two poster sizes (approximately A2 and A3). .Please note they are only being made available for personal use or when engaging in activities that will aid in drawing attention to the conservation crisis faced by the world’s albatrosses and petrels – when ACAP will be pleased to receive a mention.  They should not be used for personal gain.

The ACAP Species Infographics are being created by Thai illustrator Namasri ‘Namo’ Niumim from Bangkok.  Namo is a graduate of the School of Architecture and Design, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design.

The ACAP Species Infographic for the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross is now in production.

With grateful thanks to Pep Arcos and Karine Delord for their help editing Spanish and French translations, respectively.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 28 April 2025