The Kaua'i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project is working to reduce powerline collisions of three species of threatened seabirds on the Hawaiian island of Kauai by developing the Wildlife Laser Fence. The fence creates a visual barrier which seabirds then divert up and over, thus avoiding collision with the power lines.

The summary of a recent posting by the KESRP follows:

“Two major threats to birds worldwide are collisions with power lines and disorientation caused by artificial light sources. This is especially true on the island of Kauaʻi, where both power lines and artificial lights are a serious threat to the three endangered and endemic seabirds, the Newell’s Shearwater, Hawaiian Petrel, and Band-rumped Storm-Petrel. These seabirds are vulnerable to colliding with power lines when they make frequent nocturnal flights from the sea to their montane breeding colonies and back again. The young of these species are particularly vulnerable to grounding when they become disoriented by artificial lights on their maiden voyage out to sea.

The Underline Monitoring Project (UMP), which is a sub-project within KESRP, has multiple related research avenues: 1) determine where and to what extent seabirds hit power lines or are grounded by lights, 2) identify environmental and behavioral predictors of power line collision and grounding, and 3) conduct experiments testing the efficacy of minimization strategies.”

Wildlife Laser Fence in action, photograph by Adam Elzinga

Brief descriptions of the methods used to achieve the three overarching goals are described  here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 August 2018

The UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has postponed the intended eradication of the albatross-killing House Mice Mus musculus of Gough Island in the South Atlantic from next year to 2020.  According to the RSPB this will allow more time for planning the exercise and thus increase chances of success (click here for more details).

At risk to "killer" mice: a female Tristan Albatross incubates its egg on Gough Island; photograph by John Cooper

“A combination of unexpected challenges this year have shown the Gough team’s ability and determination to achieve our goals. By going ahead with the operation in 2020, we will have sufficient time not only to ensure that we overcome those challenges, but to use the results to build stronger, more robust plans.  The operational window is between June and August of each year. June 2020 is the next earliest feasible date that we can carry out an eradication.”

Read more items in ACAP Latest News on Gough’s mice here.

The Gough Island Restoration Programme is being carried out by the RSPB in partnership with Tristan da Cunha, BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs.  Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 August 2018

The Mouse Free Marion restoration project of BirdLife South Africa aims to raise 30 million South African Rands to help the South African Department of Environmental Affairs eradicate introduced House Mice Mus musculus from sub-Antarctic Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean in the next few years – currently set for winter 2020.  The mice have taken to attacking and killing seabird chicks at Marion Island, notably of several ACAP-listed species, such as the globally Endangered Grey-Headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma (click here).

A House Mouse feeds on the bared skull of a Wandering Albatross chick at Marion Island, photograph by Stefan Schoombie

Donors can sponsor a hectare of Marion Island for R1000 - or US$90 - through the project’s website. This amount is roughly what it will cost to purchase the toxic bait required to eradicate mice from one hectare of the island. The website has a built-in secure payment system, with options for credit card or EFT payments within South Africa. Sponsors can receive a Section 18A tax certificate for their donation. BirdLife South Africa is also able to process payments from the United States and Canada and to provide tax certificates for these countries.

All sponsors’ names are being listed on the website and a map of the island will be updated to reflect the total number of hectares sponsored.  So far, 174 hectares (0.57%) have been sponsored by 67 individuals, from one to 35 ha a person.  Each sponsor will be e-mailed a certificate with the GPS coordinates of his or her hectare.

The website is also an information portal for Marion Island and the importance of the restoration project. To keep donors updated on the progress of the campaign, video interviews with key partners and individuals are being uploaded as the project grows, including one by ACAP’s honorary Information Officer.  A section containing Frequently Asked Questions informs visitors to the site about the island and the eradication project.

All funds received through the website will be used for the Marion Island Restoration Project, except for a 2% administration fee.

For more information about the restoration project contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. of BirdLife South Africa.

Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 August 2018

Eight Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis (Least Concern) are being satellite-tracked from the vicinity of Cape Cod in the North Atlantic by the USA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Tracks heading into the South Atlantic towards the birds’ breeding sites may be viewed here.  The sanctuary has tracked Great Shearwaters in previous years in order to study the movements, life cycle, and feeding and foraging habits of Great Shearwaters in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

“They want to find out what the shearwaters are doing in the Gulf of Maine, where they’re going, and then match up the birds with data on sand lances, water temperatures … .  When they tag the birds they take blood samples and sample the preen glands for toxins.”

Great Shearwater, photograph by John Graham

Read more about the research here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 August 2018