Barbara Creecy, Minister, South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a partnership between the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the environmental NGO, BirdLife South Africa.  In an ambitious undertaking, the MFM Project aims to remove the introduced House Mice Mus musculus which are endangering the long-term survival of the seabirds and other native species of South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Thought accidentally brought to Marion by sealers in the early 19th century, the mice have been inflicting devastating impacts on the ecology of the island by attacking and literally eating alive the chicks and even adults of both surface-nesting and burrowing seabirds, including at least seven ACAP-listed species.

The project has received the endorsement of the DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy who writes “Very few South Africans have visited, or will ever get a chance to visit, the country’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Yet hundreds are making their donations towards eradicating the island’s albatross-killing mice via the Mouse-Free Marion Project.  As Minister of the Department, I wish it every success and urge you to support it in any way you can!”

These globally Endangered Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma chicks will not survive overnight ‘scalping’ by Marion’s House Mice; photograph by Ben Dilley

Marion Island is home to globally important populations of seabirds, including a quarter of the world’s entire population of globally Vulnerable Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans, an iconic species both famous in rhyme and for having the largest wingspan of any living bird.  Three other albatross species breed on the island, along with many species of burrowing petrels, some still in huge numbers, as well as four species of penguins.  Without immediate action, Marion Island’s seabirds face local extinction.  Left unchecked, the mice are predicted to cause the disappearance of 18 of the 28 species of breeding seabirds currently found on the island.

A House Mouse feeds on the exposed head of a Wandering Albatross chick at night.  The birds have evolved no protection against this alien invader, photograph by Stefan Schoombie

Ongoing warming due to climate change is providing more favourable conditions for mice and intensifying their impacts on Marion’s seabirds.  Removing the mice will help secure the ecological integrity of this important sub-Antarctic island and a favourable future for its globally important seabirds.  The project will also build capacity within South Africa’s conservation community for ongoing restoration efforts.

In the southern hemisphere winter of 2024 helicopters brought by sea across the ‘Roaring Forties’ from South Africa will spread rodenticide bait from underslung bait buckets in overlapping swathes across the entire island - the only method that has so far proven successful in eradicating rodents from large islands.  At 30 000 hectares, Marion will be substantially larger than all previous rodent eradication efforts undertaken on islands in a single operation.

The MFM Project aims for a better future for this Wandering Albatross chick on Marion Island; photograph by Sean Evans

Read more endorsements of the MFM Project from within and outside South Africa here.  To support the project though its ‘Sponsor a Hectare’ campaign click here.

NOTE:  This news item has been adapted from one posted by the Birds on the Brink charity (click here). 

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 December 2021

A Tristan Albatross on its nest in Gonydale, Gough Island; photograph by Michelle Risi

Following the completion of the bait drop on Gough Island in August this year, things started to look good for the island and its wildlife, especially its breeding seabirds, with no signs of introduced House Mice that had been wreaking devastation among both surface-nesting and burrowing seabird chicks.  Critically Endangered and near endemic Tristan Albatrosses Diomedea dabbenena had stopped having their chicks eaten alive in two study colonies, winter-breeding Endangered and endemic Atlantic Petrels Pterodroma incerta had done well (breeding success of 63%) after years of very low success due to mice predation, and the land birds taken into temporary captivity to avoid non-target poisoning had all been successfully released back into the wild.

An Atlantic Petrel on Gough Island; photograph by Chris Jones

Sad news then to read this week that a trail camera has picked up the image of a surviving mouse, putting the whole eradication attempt into jeopardy., A press release by the UK’s Gough Island Restoration Programme (GIRP) follows in its entirety.

“Today, Tuesday 14 December, the Gough Island Restoration Team is devastated to report that following the mouse eradication attempt earlier this year, a single mouse has been spotted via monitoring equipment on the island.

We are deeply upset by this news and know that the many people who supported us in our endeavour to restore the island will be equally saddened. It matters because the removal of every mouse from Gough Island was necessary to prevent the loss of more than 2 million seabird chicks and eggs each year and to protect endangered species like the Tristan albatross from extinction.

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB said: “This was one of the most ambitious island restoration programmes ever attempted, bringing together experts from around the world to protect globally endangered seabirds in what many would consider one of the most remote and difficult to reach locations on Earth. With over a decade of planning and given the logistics involved, this has been the conservation equivalent of landing on the Moon.

“We needed to take this urgent action to save millions of eggs and chicks from predation, prevent extinctions and to undo the damage caused by mice which humans unwittingly allowed onto the island in the past. We are confident that through this partnership we put everything in place to give the project the best chance of being successful. Although only one mouse has been sighted so far, unfortunately experience would tell us that it is unlikely to be the only one.

“Although it appears we have fallen short of our target, it is too early to know what this means or just how much time we might have bought the seabirds of Gough. We are continuing to monitor the island and assess the situation. The situation at Gough and threat to the unique seabirds of this island only serve to underline the importance of effective biosecurity measures on currently predator-free islands to prevent invasive species arriving in the first place and devastating native wildlife, and the need for island restoration projects to protect affected species from extinction.”

More details come from GIRP Programme Executive, Andrew Callender:

“The RSPB Overwintering Team has been monitoring for signs of mice since the eradication team demobilised off Gough Island in mid-August.  We are deeply concerned to report that on 11th December, a single mouse was recorded on one of the camera traps around 260 meters from Base – the team retrieved this camera on December 13th.  There has to date been no other sign of mouse activity.  We will continue to gather what evidence we can to ascertain the scale of survival and any breeding activity and are responding accordingly."

ACAP Latest News will continue to report on developments on Gough Island as further information comes to hand.

With thanks for additional information from Andrew Callender.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 December 2021

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous organization under the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences, will host online the SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Open Science Conference 2022 over 1-10 August.  The theme of the conference is “Antarctica in a Changing World”.

The SCAR Open Science Conference 2022 will feature a comprehensive schedule of meetings, symposia, virtual side events and social activities, daily plenary lectures and poster sessions in an innovative online format.  The conference will include a wide range of parallel sessions from the Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Geosciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, and on Cross-Disciplinary Topics.

Proposals for additional sessions are welcomed.  Send suggestions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for consideration and contact the SCAR 2022 Project Management Team for more information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 December 2022

Street lights down ACAP-listed Westland Petrel fledglings in New Zealand - resulting in road kills from traffic

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.  It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. The day is celebrated twice a year, on the second Saturdays of May and October.  World Migratory Bird Day for 2022 will have the theme of Light Pollution.

“Artificial light is increasing globally by at least two per cent per year and it is known to adversely affect many bird species.  Light pollution is a significant threat to migratory birds, causing disorientation when they fly at night, leading to collisions with buildings, perturbing their internal clocks, or interfering with their ability to undertake long-distance migrations.

Solutions to light pollution are readily available. For instance, more and more cities in the world are taking measures to dim building lights during migration phases in spring and autumn. Best practice guidelines are also being developed under the Convention on Migratory Species to address this growing issue and ensure that action is taken globally to help birds migrate safely.”

Downed Westland Petrels ready for release

Light pollution affects ACAP-listed species and other procellariiform seabirds in two main ways: during breeding on land and at sea.  On-land threats are related to breeding adults and especially fledglings becoming disoriented and falling to the ground (where they are at risk of being run over on roads or being killed by domestic or feral cats and other predators) or being killed by collisions with overhead wires when traversing from breeding site to the shore in the vicinity of well-lit areas.  Such events can happen on foggy nights and are related to phases of the moon.  ACAP-listed species known to be at risk are the Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica, the Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus and the Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus.  Other procellariiform species seriously affected include Newell’s Puffinus newelli and Wedge-tailed Ardenna pacifica Shearwaters and Hawaiian Petrels Pterodroma sandwichensis on inhabited Hawaiian islands and Hutton’s Shearwater Puffinus huttoni that breeds inland on New Zealand’s South Island. Searching on these species’ names will lead to several news posts on the subject of light pollution on this website.

At-sea threats relate to bright deck lighting at night attracting mainly the smaller procellariiform birds on fishing, expedition and cruise vessels, primarily in the Southern Ocean and especially during calm, foggy conditions in the vicinity of breeding islands (click here for an example).

Testing green street lighting in Chile to reduce fall out of Pink-footed Shearwaters; photograph from Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge

To become involved with World Migratory Bird Day for 2022 and to register events visit the campaign’s website.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 December 2022