Chris Perrins (Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, UK) has published in the 2104 issue of Seabird, the annual journal of the Seabird Group, on survival of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus banded as fledglings in the 1960s and 1970 on an island off Wales.

The paper’s abstract follows:

During an 11-year period starting in the mid-1960s, large numbers of fledgling Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus were ringed and recaptured on Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales.  Since it is unlikely that any more will ever be found, this paper summarises the factors that affected the chances of a fledgling surviving long enough to be recaptured on the island.  Both the date on which they were ringed and their weight at that time influenced the probability that they would be recaptured.  Some implications for the annual cycle are discussed.

Manx Shearwater fledgling, photograph by Jaclyn Pearson

Reference:

Perrins, C.M. 2014. Factors affecting survival of fledgling Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus.  Seabird 27: 62-71.

NOTE:  the complete PDF will become available online in May 2015.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 February 2015

Jacopo Cecere (ISPRA - Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Ozzano dell ’Emilia, Italy) and colleagues have published in the journal Ibis on the foraging habitat preferences of Scopoli’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea in the Mediterranean Sea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The distribution of seabirds at sea is influenced by physical, ecological and anthropogenic factors such as sea depth, prey distribution, intra-specific competition and commerical [sic] fishing activities.  We quantified the foraging habitat preferences of Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea in the Mediterranean Sea. We analysed habitat preferences in relation to a suite of physical and ecological variables including sea depth, net primary production and distance to other colonies (as a proxy of intra-specific competition).  Since the Mediterranean is heavily impacted by commercial fisheries, we also incorporated the distance to fishing harbours in our analyses as a proxy of the availability of discards which are a potential feeding source for Scopoli’s Shearwater.  Foraging birds preferred shallower waters and avoided areas close to other colonies, thereby reducing interactions with conspecifics.  We also found that long-distance trips were undertaken to areas close to fishing harbours, suggesting that these represented particularly profitable locations to compensate for the greater travelling costs involved.  No differences in foraging between the sexes were recorded.  This study improves our understanding of the at-sea distribution and habitat preference of a seabird inhabiting the over-exploited Mediterranean Sea.  Our results support growing evidence that seabirds exhibit complex relationships with commerical fishing activities, which must be considered when planning conservation programmes.”

Scopoli's Shearwater at sea, photograph by Jacob Gonzalez-Solis 

With thanks to Barry Baker for information.

Reference:

Cecere, J.G., Catoni, C., Gaibani, G., Geraldes, P., Celada, C. & Imperio, S. 2015.  Commercial fisheries, inter-colony competition and sea depth affect foraging location of breeding Scopoli’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea.  Ibis  doi: 10.1111/ibi.12235.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 February 2015

Kaloakulua must now be pretty famous.  The offspring of Kaluahine and Kaluakane, a pair of Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis on the north-east shore of the USA’s Kauai Island, its growth from hatching to fledging was livestreamed for 148 days last year to thousands of online viewers by a “trosscam” operated by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Seen the movie, now read the book!

Susan Dierker, a resident of Kauai, has written an account for children of Kaloakulua’s first year of life as a chick.  The hard-cover book of 44 pages is made up Susan’s evocative paintings of special scenes captured by the remote camera.  These include Kaloakualua (designated to be a female) being visited by a rooster called George, checking out some passing egrets and meeting up with Mango, another Laysan chick from a nearby nest.  At the end of the book the chick successfully fledges and flies out to sea.

Having brought up a daughter who had books read to her nightly until she could read them herself, I can classify children’s picture books into three types.  First, books with just illustrations for very young children, then those with a simple text for each picture so you can allow the child to see and follow the words you are reading out, then for older children those books where you can help them spell out the text themselves.  I place Susan Dierker’s nicely printed and bound book in between the second and third categories.  In fact, I wish I had it two decades back to read out at bedtime.

The short sentences accompanying each painting are all in large capitals and many of the words used come with their Hawaiian versions (for example a Laysan Albatross is a Mōlī and a chicken is a Moa).

The DVD has 10 clips from the livestreaming camera that well complement the book, including KK’s interaction with George.  All in all the book and DVD make a nice package to help persuade your offspring that albatrosses are seriously cool.

Kauai’s trosscam is back in operation again this year, following two nests that are hatching right now (click here); another book, Susan?

Click here to view ACAP’s listing of other children’s books on albatrosses and petrels: it’s been visited over 4700 times.

Reference:

Dierker, Susan 2014.  Albatross of Kaua’i.  The Story of Kaloakulua.  Hanalei: Done by Dogs Publishing.  Unpaginated [44 pp] + DVD.  ISBN 978-0-9832386-2-1.  Hard cover with coloured illustrations.  US$ 20.00.  www.albatrossofkauai.com.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 February 2014

Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis have been doing well this breeding season with record numbers reported for the atolls in the North-western Hawaiian Islands (click here).

A Laysan Albatross family at Kaena Point, photograph by Lindsay Young

Relatively few Laysans breed on the inhabited main islands in the Hawaiian chain but those that do are of conservation significance because their breeding sites are less at risk to sea-level rise caused by climate change.  Good news then that at least one of these colonies, at Oahu’s Kaena Point where the birds are protected by a predator-proof fence, is also having a record year, as reported last month by Hawaiian journalist Susan Scott in her regular blog, Ocean Watch:

“Lindsay Young and Eric Vanderwerf report this is a record year for Laysan albatrosses inside the fence: 94 couples are nesting, accompanied by uncounted adolescents there to sing, dance and find a mate.  The birds that come to Kaena are not just offspring of the local population.  Many are explorers displaced from other islands and searching for a new place to breed.  Because albatross pioneers are mostly females, Kaena Point hosts more females than males.  Young and Vanderwerf determined that about one-third of the nesters there are female-female pairs successfully raising chicks.”

Sue Scott poses with her artwork made out of cigarette lighters ingested by Laysan Albatrosses

With thanks to Lindsay Young, Pacific Rim Conservation, for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 February 2015