A juvenile Black-browed Albatross off Cape Town, South Africa with a tracking device visible on its back; photograph by Estelle Smalberger

BirdLife International have announced new developments to their Seabird Tracking Database, an online platform where researchers can share their tracking data with scientists and wider conservation communities.

The developments include:

• the addition of a geospatial search function where polygons are created on the map to filter tracking datasets. Users can now search by any number of countries' waters (EEZs) and can upload their own polygons;
• the ability for users to create a “Public profile” in their account settings allowing for the input of input such as a job title, interests or contact details which they can choose to make public;
• the simplification of the “My account” page where datasets, user requests and requests for datasets each have their own pages.

Hosting the largest collection of seabird tracking data in the world, the BirdLife International Seabird Tracking Database stores tracking data from around the world, assisting seabird conservation work and supporting scientists. The Seabird Tracking Database can be found, here.

12 January 2024

The 2023/2024 Royal Cam pair at its nest, photograph by Sharyn Broni

The new Royal Cam pair of globally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi in the mainland colony at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on New Zealand’s South Island for the 2023/24 season has been chosen.  Colour banded LGK and LGL, the female laid her egg on 7 November and the pair is currently sharing incubation duties.  The birds, which successfully raised Royal Cam chicks in 2019 (Karere) and again in 2021 (Tiaki), are also sharing cam duty with another pair, BOK and WYL, breeding just a few metres away.

Follow the live-streaming video from the Royal Cam here

The ACAP Species Infographic for the Northern Royal Albatross has been sponsored by the New Zealand Department of Conservation,  Download it from here

Moana, after being colour banded, photograph by Leon Chu

The Northern Royal Albatross is a biennially breeding species, as are all six great albatross species in the genus Diomedea, with essentially two cohorts breeding in alternate years.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 11 January 2024

 Photograph by Scott Pearson

A symposium on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, plenary talks from Dr Natalie Ban, Dr Gemma Clucas, and Dr Sarah Converse, and a workshop on bird banding, are just some of the highlights featured in the Scientific Program released by the Pacific Seabird Group for its 51^st Annual Meeting (PSG2024).

The Symposium: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is described by organisers as an event to, "bring together experts to discuss the latest findings and developments in the emergence and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in seabirds. This symposium will focus on the epidemiology, ecology, and evolution of avian influenza in wild bird populations, assessments of mortality and population-level impacts, and strategies for surveillance, prevention, and control. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities for understanding and managing this important global wildlife health issue."

Convenors of the Symposium will be:

• Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate
• Simba Chan, Japan Bird Research Association / the Wild Bird Society of Japan
• Scott Pearson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Science Division

PSG2024 will be held at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, in Washington, United States, from 15 to 23 February under the theme, “Faces of Seabird Conservation”.

Details of the event including, the Scientific Program, field trips, registration, and the draft Agenda can be found on the PSG website.

10 January 2024

Graeme Elliott ONZM prepares albatross colour bands in the field hut on Antipodes Island

Graeme Peter Elliott ONZM has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours List for 2024 for services to wildlife conservation.

His citation follows:

“Dr Graeme Elliott has been employed with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and predecessor organisations since the 1980s and has volunteered his own time to furthering ecological research and conservation initiatives.

Dr Elliott’s research has significantly expanded New Zealand’s knowledge of its endangered birds and the threats to them.   He has been a member of the National Kakapo Management Group and Recovery Group since 1995. Since 2003 he has been on the Whio (blue duck), Orange-fronted kākāriki and Mohua (Yellowhead) Recovery Groups, principally as a Science Advisor.  His PhD research identified seeding patterns that increased predator numbers and threatened hole-nesting Mohua and parakeet species, which led to improved predator control to protect threatened birds. He is regarded as a cornerstone of DOC’s large-scale predator control programmes, with his research informing the approach applied in South Island forests and adapted for North Island forests, leading to an increase in the numbers of forest birds and bats.  He and his partner have monitored the health of albatross populations in the subantarctic annually since 1991, much of it in their own time.  Through this, Dr Elliott and his partner discovered both Gibson’s and Antipodean albatross populations were in a critical condition and have worked to alert others and to find solutions.”

Kath Walker (left) and Graeme Elliott display their banner supporting the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June 2020 on Antipodes Island, fittingly photobombed by an Antipodean Albatross

Graeme, along with his partner Kath Walker ONZM, is a long-time supporter of the Albatross and Petrel Agreement with regular news and photographs coming from Antipodes and Auckland Islands on their globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon Antipodean Albatrosses Diomedea antipodensis.  Kath became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 Honours List (click here).

A matched pair: Kath Walker ONZM and Graeme Elliott ONZM on Antipodes Island flank an Antipodean Albatross

The New Zealand Order of Merit was instituted by Royal Warrant in May 1996.  The Order is awarded to those “who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits”.

Read more here.

A previous post to ACAP Latest News lists marine ornithologists who have received awards from the Australian, New Zealand and United Kingdom honours lists.

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