Two Black-footed Albatrosses Phoebastria nigripes are being seen regularly within the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, according to a Facebook posting by the NGO Pacific Rim Conservation which monitors breeding Laysan Albatrosses P. immutabilis within the reserve.

Forming a pair? Two Black-footed Albatrosses interact in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve, photograph from Pacific Rim Conservation

One bird has been seen in the predator-proof fenced reserve since early January (banded purple V541) and was joined by a second Black-footed Albatross in mid-February. The two birds have been seen undertaking courtship dances regularly.  A few Black-footed decoys have been present for some years and the occasional bird has been seen on site since at least 2013.

Because the majority of Black-footed Albatrosses breeds on low-lying atolls, the establishment of a breeding colony at Kaena Point, protected from predicted sea level rise by its altitude, would add to the efforts being made to establish another colony on Oahu, by hand-rearing translocated Back-footed Albatross chicks in the James Campbell Wildlife Refuge (click here). This project, also operated by Pacific Rim Conservation, is now in its third year (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 March 2019

Twenty-five Black-footed Albatrosses Phoebastria nigripes (Near Threatened) chicks were translocated from Midway Atoll to within a predator-proof fence in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Oahu on 16 February this year.  The downy chicks were taken from sites close to the sea’s edge, where they were considered at risk to storm surges and thus unlikely to survive to fledging.  The chicks are being  hand-fed on a special diet* until they fledge.  Following a short indoor period the chicks have now been moved out-of-doors, protected from "from the cold rain and scorching sun" by wooden A-frames, as described and illustrated on Pacific Rim Conservation's Facebook Page.

Too close: a Black-footed Albatross breeds near the sea edge on Midway Atoll, photograph from Pacific Rim Conservation

A Black-footed Albatross chick, photograph by Leilani Fowlke, Pacific Rim Conservation

Earlier postings to ACAP Latest News describe the first two years of Black-footed translocations, with 15 chicks in 2017 and 25 in 2018; 36 of these fledged.  Watch a six-minute video describing the 2017 translocation hand-rearing Black-footed Albatrosses.

The effort to create a new Black-footed Albatross colony considered safe from sea-level rise is being undertaken by the NGO Pacific Rim Conservation in partnership with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

An extract from Pacific Rim Conservation’s Annual Report for 2018 follows that summarises the goals and activities of the NGO’s seabird conservation programme:

“The goals of the No Net Loss initiative are twofold: 1) to protect as much seabird nesting habitat in the main islands as is being lost in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands because of the effects of climate change; and 2) to establish new breeding colonies of seabird species that are safe from sea level rise and non-native predators. We do this by building predator exclusion fences, removing invasive predators, and then attracting or translocating birds into these protected areas.”

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 March 2019

*Pacific Rim Conservation's slurry recipe:

Pedialyte
Squid
Various fish (Pacific Herring, Anchovies, Spanish Sardines, California Sardines, Sardines)
Salmon Oil
Mazuri Vitamin

On 8 October 2010 a globally Endangered (and Nationally Critical) Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis of the subspecies gibsoni carrying identifying band Orange 512 was spotted at sea off Kaikoura on New Zealand’s South Island entangled with “her legs caught in hundreds of metres of multi-strand poly-nylon fishing line”.  The bird was caught, the line removed and the bird was then released back to sea by Albatross Encounter Kaikoura skipper and guide, Gary Melville (click here).

Gary Melville releases Orange 512 after it had been disentangled in 2010

Orange 512 was first seen off Kaikoura as a three-year old in December 1998.  It was banded as a chick close to fledging in the Mount Dick colony on Adams Island, Auckland Islands group on 24 December 1996 by Graeme Taylor and Kath Walker.  The bird has been spotted before and after the entanglement incident many times making it a regular visitor to Kaikoura (click here).

The latest news, posted earlier this month comes from the Albatross Encounter Kaikoura Facebook page:

“It has been great to see Orange 512 over the past few days.  This female Gibson’s albatross is 24 years old. She is one of our regulars and like family to us!  First sighted by us when she was 3, she is one of our most frequently sighted banded birds here in Kaikoura!”

Orange 512 in early 2019, photograph from Albatross Encounter Kaikoura

Nice to see an ageing lady doing well.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 February 2019

In 2015 introduced House Mice on the USA's Midway Atoll in the North Pacific were first reported attacking and sometimes killing breeding Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed P. nigripes Albatrosses (click here).  Since then planning has been underway to deal with the problem, including releasing a draft environmental assessment to protect the seabirds of Midway Atoll’s Sand Island from mice for public comment. (click here for more ACAP Latest News postings on the subject).

Midway Laysan Albatosses attacked and wounded by introduced House Mice in 2016

The Final Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact, associated documents and permits and project details are now available (click here).

“In order to protect this globally important colony of seabirds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized the Midway Seabird Protection Plan to remove the predatory invasive house mouse from Midway Atoll.  All public comments and information received during the public comment period were considered in the development of the environmental assessment.  [The] environmental assessment was prepared in consultation with other agencies, private organizations, and the public. After circulating the report for public and agency comment, the Service has determined that the proposed project [consisting of an island-wide aerial distribution by helicopter of bait pellets containing the rodenticide Brodicafoum] would not have a significant adverse effect on the quality of the environment and has prepared a Finding of No Significant Impact.”

ACAP Latest News will report on activities towards eradicating Midway’s introduced mice as information becomes available.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 February 2019