Enjoying the great outdoors: Ornithological Field Assistant, Lucy Smyth, on Marion Island; photograph by Monica Leitner

Inspired by ACAP’s rallying cry to get involved in this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count and increase the number of ACAP-listed birds in the results, Ornithological Field Assistant, Lucy Smyth, who is currently stationed on South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island, braved pouring rain to notch up her count (see table below). 

When asked about getting involved in the GBBC, Lucy responded, "A lot of fieldwork on Marion Island is very much a solo affair. Day after day after day I walk around, counting and monitoring birds from sunrise to sunset, with only myself for company. While I treasure this time alone, it was great to feel a sense of community on the day of the GBBC, and to think of all the people, all over the world, doing the same thing that day. We were all connected through our love for birds, despite the thousands of kilometres of ocean that lie between us."

A Wandering Albatross chick on Marion Island; photograph by Lucy Smyth

Lucy is a  member of the 79th Marion Island Overwintering Team who are stationed on Marion until May 2023. She has been monitoring Wandering Albatrosses and other seabird species at Marion Island.

The GBBC took place over four-days from February 17-20. Checklists are being counted until March 1, but currently over 315,000 checklists have been submitted and 7,493 species observed.

A map displaying submissions to the GBBC on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Yellow dots indicate a checklist submission, which revert to a white dot in the background.

Head to birdcount.org to explore data that has been submitted to date and to watch the GBBC’s real-time map displaying the locations of participants from all over the world as they submitted their checklists.

ACAP will report on the final results once available.

With thanks to Dr Maëlle Connan of Nelson Mandela University's, Marine Apex Predator Research Unit for alerting ACAP to Lucy's count.

27 February 2023

An artistic impression of Macronectes tinae by Simone Giovanardi, © Te Papa

New Zealand fossil-hunter Alistair Johnson has added a new species of giant petrel to the list of those he has discovered along the South Taranaki coast over the past 15 years. 

Named in honour of his late partner, Tina King, Macronectes tinae was found by Johnson in sediments from a geologic formation known as the Tangahoe Formation. The wide band of layered sedimentary rock dates from the Pliocene and was, when it formed, below sea level some 3.4 to 3.0 million years ago. Exposed cliff faces at its western end have proved a rich source of marine fossils.

The near complete skull and the fragmentary left humerus of the newly described giant petrel is the first reported Macronectes fossil. 

Skull (holotype, NMNZ S.048502) of Macronectes tinae sp. nov., partially embedded in matrix, in different views; scale bar = 5 cm. (A) Dorsal view. (B) Lateral view (right). (C) Lateral view (left). (D) Anterior view. (E) Caudal view

An image of the skulls (except mandible) of Macronectes spp.; scale bar = 5 cm. (A,B) M. giganteus, NMNZ OR.015278. (C,D) M. halli, NMNZ OR.029173; photograph by Jean-Claude Stahl (NMNZ)

Giant petrels are the largest birds in the family Procellariidae and are represented by two present-day species, both listed as of globally Least Concern; the Southern Macronectes giganteus; and the Norther M. halli.  Alhough morphologically similar, Macronectes tinae was a smaller bird than its living relatives.

“The skull is diagnosed by its overall smaller size, a proportionately longer apertura nasi ossea, and potentially by a shorter os supraocciptale. The humerus is diagnosed from both species by a proportionately less deep shaft, a more prominent medial portion of the epicondylus ventralis, and a larger and fusiform fossa medialis brachialis.”

Johnson also has a fossil named after him in a small albatross he found in 2011, Aldiomedes angustirostris .“Al” in relation to his name and “diomedes” after the Greek mythological figure from whence the albatross family was named.

The fossil has been added to the collection of the Te Papa and Canterbury Museum in Wellington and Johnson, as has been the case for his previous finds, has been gifted a replica in its place.

A paper on the newly described Macronectes tinae published open access in the journal, Taxonomy can be accessed, here, or find out more about Alistair Johnson and his fossil hunting in Taranaki, in an article by the New Zealand media outlet, Stuff.

References:

Naish, T. R., Wehland, F., Wilson, G. S., Browne, G. H., Cook, R. A., Morgans, H. E. G., Rosenberg, M., King, P.R., Smale, D., Nelson, C.S., Kamp, P.J.J., & Richetts, B. 2005. An integrated sequence stratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental, and chronostratigraphic analysis of the Tangahoe Formation, southern Taranaki coast, with implications for mid-Pliocene (c. 3.4–3.0 Ma) glacio-eustatic sea-level changes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 35(1&2), 151-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2005.9517780 

Tennyson, A.J.D., & Salvador, R.B.A. 2023. New Giant Petrel (Macronectes, Aves: Procellariidae) from the Pliocene of Taranaki, New Zealand. Taxonomy. 3, 57-67. https://doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy3010006

24 February 2023

A female Wandering Albatross incubates on Macquarie Island, photograph by Melanie Wells

“Our vision for Macquarie Island is that the natural and heritage values remain protected from threats and conserved for current and future generations”

The newly launched not-for-profit Macquarie Island Conservation Foundation will provides a pathway for the public to contribute to the protection of the outstanding natural and heritage values of Tasmania’s Macquarie Island Nature Reserve and World Heritage Site.

“The Foundation aims to fund and help facilitate practical science and research programs, as well as provide supplementary support to management initiatives, student projects and outreach activities which will benefit the conservation of Macquarie Island.  The Foundation also seeks to provide an ongoing connection to Macquarie Island through news and updates about the island, and inspire the Tasmanian community to value and contribute to the protection of the island and its unique inhabitants.”

The Foundation logo depicts a Royal Penguin Eudyptes schlegeli, a Macquarie Island endemic species

Specifically, the Foundation will:

• Raise funds for small grants and targeted conservation and research initiatives which align with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service’s management of Macquarie Island.
• Provide an avenue for people to connect with the island through a website, social media and newsletters.
• Participate in community festivals and school outreach programs to promote awareness and appreciation of the natural and heritage values of Tasmania’s only sub-Antarctic island.”

Click here to join the mailing list or here to become a suscribing member (which will also add you to the mailing list).  There is also a Facebook page.

A Grey-headed Albatross stands tall on ‘Macca’, photograph by Melanie Wells

The MICF Management Committee consists of Julie McInnes, Kris Carlyon, Andrea Turbett, Ben Arthur and William MacAulay.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 23 February 2023

Not from around here: the Westland Petrel found at Wylie Bay in Western Australia; photo courtesy of Lynn Kidd (Esperance Roo Haven and Wildlife Rescue)

Westland Petrels are familiar with Australian coastlines, just generally not the 20 788-km stretch that is Western Australia’s.  

A member of the public recently found a Westland Petrel at Wylie Bay near Esperance, a town located on the southern coast of Western Australia. The visibly unwell bird was taken to a wildlife carer, who, not recognising the species, contacted a seabird expert who identified it as a Westland Petrel.

Endemic to New Zealand, the globally Endangered Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica is a colonial, burrow-nesting, annually breeding species. The Westland Petrel's non-breeding range extends east from New Zealand to Chile, though sightings have been known off south-eastern Australia.

When found, the petrel weighed just 580 grams, less than half of what it should be. The wildlife carer was initially able to keep the severely underweight petrel alive, however it was discovered dead on the morning of its fourth day in care.

The bird is now in possession of the Western Australia Museum (WAM), where a taxidermist prepared the specimen for the museum’s collection; the body of the bird was skinned and preserved as a dry specimen, whilst tissue samples from muscle and liver were taken to be kept in frozen storage. 

ACAP contacted WAM’s Acting Curator of Ornithology, Dr Kenny Travouillon to ask if any further information on the specimen had come to light since the specimen had been prepared for the collection. He advised the petrel was a subadult male, and the stomach content was full of sardines, its last meal given by the carer (no plastics).

The Museum has a keen interest in documenting and preserving vagrant birds as increases in their sightings may prompt research into factors behind an escalation such as climate change.

Further details on the discovery of the Westland Petrel in Western Australia can be found in coverage given by the ABC (Australia’s national broadcaster), here.

22 February 2023