A Southern Royal Albatross on Campbell Island

NOTE:  This post continues an occasional series that features photographs of the 31 ACAP-listed species, along with information from and about their photographers.  Here Peter Moore writes about his experiences with the globally Vulnerable and nationally Naturally Uncommon Southern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora.  Peter worked for many years as a seabird scientist for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, most recently in its then Marine Conservation Unit.  He is now with the Institute for Applied Ecology in Oregon, USA.  See accounts for species so far covered in the series in the Photo Essays section on this website.

Peter Moore about to band a Southern Royal Albatross chick on Campbell Island, September 1988

 The Southern Royal Albatross breeds on sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand, principally on Campbell Island, where approximately 8500 pairs nest each year, and on the Auckland Islands, where there are fewer than 100 pairs.  The breeding pattern is biennial, and during their non-breeding years, adults and juveniles travel to South American waters.

Human activities have impacted the populations of Southern Royals.  Hunting of birds on Enderby Island, Auckland Islands during the mid-1800s resulted in the demise of the species there, although the bird has subsequently returned to breed.  It is possible that depredations and habitat destruction during the farming era (1895-1931) caused a large reduction in the population on Campbell Island, since there were only 2300 nests in 1957.  The species is also vulnerable to fisheries bycatch, for example a peak in tuna long-line fishing in New Zealand region during the 1970s to early 1980s coincided with a decrease in the population on Campbell Island.  Overall, however, Southern Royal Albatrosses increased in number during the 20th Century and apparently levelled off during the early 2000s. A recent low count of nests in the Col study area on Campbell Island warrants further investigation.

An approximately one-month-old chick being brooded by its parent, March 1988.  The egg is laid in November-December, chicks hatch in February and fledge in October

My first connection with Southern Royal Albatrosses came in 1987/88 when I spent a year on Campbell Island engaged in a wide range of Department of Conservation research and monitoring projects.  For one of our smaller tasks, Roger Moffat and I measured breeding success of Southern Royals in two study areas (Col and Moubray) by counting nests with eggs in January and hatchlings in March and then banding the fledglings in August.  It was always a treat to pass our regular “Albie” chicks and note their progress as we travelled along the ridgelines.  An enduring memory of that winter is seeing many albatross chicks sitting on their nests half buried during an unusually long period of snow accumulation.

 
A downy post-guard chick in the snow with Mount Dumas in the background, May 1988

During several seasons in the 1990s, with the help of many colleagues and volunteers, I was able to continue monitoring and banding of Southern Royal Albatrosses at the study areas, add three new index count areas and conduct whole island censuses of nesting birds.

A nesting Southern Royal Albatross in the Col study area, with Northwest Bay and Dent Island in the background, February 1995

One thing we discovered was that it was less disturbing to apply and read bands to breeding birds while they sat on their nests than it was to remove them first.  Although this approach took care, it reduced the potential for eggs being damaged, abandoned or preyed upon by Brown or Subantarctic Skuas Catharacta antarctica.  On one occasion, when we did catch a bird for banding and measuring, the handler came off second best. Upon release, concerned that the bird was stumbling onto the nest, Gary leaned in a bit too close and the bird turned and tore a big slice out of his upper lip. Luckily, we had a well-stocked first aid room back at base.  Unluckily, one of the two people trained in suturing was the patient and the other person was not too proficient with a curved needle.  Fortunately, I was a good stand-in, but the lip is not easy to stitch up, and the operation took about two hours!

Peter Moore working with a banded Southern Royal Albatross on its nest on Campbell Island, January 2008

More than 35 000 Southern Royal Albatrosses were metal banded between the 1940s and 1990s, mainly by staff of the Campbell Island meteorological station.  In the days before satellite tags and GPS loggers, this resulted in valuable information on the circumpolar dispersal of adolescent birds and non-breeding adults.  Unfortunately, poor training resulted in some bands not being closed properly and even when they were applied well, the large springy band sometimes opened over time.  Open bands embedded in birds’ legs, and the resulting injuries crippled them.  Overall, we found that 3.4% of birds had been injured by their bands.  To rectify this problem, I returned to Campbell Island for five seasons from 2004/05 to 2008/09.  Two teams of four people scoured the hillsides looking for nesting birds to remove their bands.  As a bonus, we gained plenty of data on band recoveries; for example, the oldest bird that we found was aged 43 years.  We also gained detailed information about nesting distribution and population size.  To retain a marked population, we applied new stronger bands or inserted transponders on birds in the Col study area.

A team surveying for nesting birds in a megaherb field with the Campbell Island Daisy Pleurophyllum speciosum prominent, January 2007. For a large white bird, Southern Royal Albatrosses can be surprisingly well-hidden in the uneven terrain and tall vegetation

It was a great privilege spending so much time on Campbell Island over a 22-year period and it felt like a second home for me.  I shared these field trips with many other colleagues and friends, and one, Stacy, even became my wife - she returned for several albatross field trips.  There are too many anecdotes to go into detail, but they include three-day boat journeys - some which were pretty wild, laughing at the wind on ridge-tops, surveying “just one more hillside before dinner”, the antics and sounds of gamming albatrosses, games of Phase10 at the Moubray Hut, sharing songs, Norway Rats Rattus norvegicus burrowing into albatross nests before they were eradicated, tame Auckland Island Pipits Anthus novaeseelandiae aucklandicus coming into the huts after rat eradication, hosting National Geographic, the relative comforts of the DOC Annex (base camp), Campbell Island Olympics at New Year (featuring field-related events), and many more.

“Gamming” albatrosses provide a wonderful spectacle - young adolescent birds check each other out as they posture and call at these parties, which are always in a state of flux as birds come and go

The “royal” albatross seems well named to me - I have always been struck by its majesty.  It is hard to beat the feeling when a bird passes over your head on a ridge-top, effortlessly riding the wind, its wings outstretched.  Hopefully, we can continue to help the species rise above the challenges of a changing world.

The Southern Royal Albatross on the wing is truly majestic; photographs by Peter Moore

Selected publications:

Moore, P.J. 2003.  Southern royal albatrosses (Diomedea epomophora) injured by bands. Notornis 50: 211-220.

Moore, P.J. & Bettany, S.M. 2005.  Recoveries of banded southern royal albatrosses (Diomedea epomophora) from Campbell Island, 1943–2003. Notornis 52: 195-205.

Moore, P.J., Larsen, E.J., Charteris, M. & Pryde, M. 2012.  Southern royal albatross on Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku - solving a band injury problem and population survey, 2004-08.  DOC Research and Development Series No. 333.  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  49 pp.

Peter Moore, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, Oregon, USA, 04 November 2021

 The Hookpod Mini

The Hookpod is a hook-protection mechanism that stops seabirds getting caught in the pelagic longline fishery.  The reusable pod covers the baited hook and sinks rapidly until a release mechanism operated by water pressure automatically opens it, releasing the bait below a depth of 20 m, out of the normal reach of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  The Hookpod Mini is a smaller and lighter version without an LED light.

The Albatross Task Force based within the environmental NGO BirdLife South Africa has reported this week on trials planned (if funding allows) with the Hookpod Mini in South Africa.

“South Africa together with Brazil and Australia participated in trialling the initial prototype in 2012 which led to significant improvements.  Ten years later and the Hookpod has been demonstrated to be the most effective method of preventing seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fleets. It is the recommended best-practice stand-alone bycatch mitigation measure by the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels and several fisheries management organizations.  In 2019, it was incorporated as part of the seabird bycatch mitigation measures included in the South African Longline Fisheries Permit Conditions.

“In 2022, we are planning to initiate trials with the new mini-Hookpod and hope to demonstrate, as in other fisheries, that the Hookpod can be used as a standalone mitigation measure in this fleet.  Because each fishery and oceanic environment is unique, demonstrating that a new mitigation measure works requires working directly with the fishermen to ensure new measures work under their fishing conditions and methods.  In this project, we will be working with a fisher who is keen to try the Hookpod and meaningfully reduce the risk of seabirds dying.  If successful we hope others in the fleet will follow on the journey towards eliminating all seabird bycatch!”

Once information on the 2022 trials with the Hookpod Mini becomes available it will be reported here in ACAP Latest News.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 November 2021

A Salvin's Prion Pachyptila salvini gets its plumage oiled after coming aboard a ship at night in the sub-Antarctic; photograph by Peter Ryan

 Peter Ryan (FitzPatrick Institute, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa) and colleagues have published in Ostrich Journal of African Ornithology on procellariiform (tubenose) seabirds attracted to lights on fishing vessels around the Tristan da Cunha – Gough Islands.  Over half the downed birds were prions Pachyptila sp. and storm petrels Oceanitidae.  No ACAP-listed species were recorded (although over a quarter were not identified to species and some were misidentified).

The paper’s abstract follow in English and in French:

“Most of the millions of burrow-nesting petrels that breed at Tristan da Cunha are susceptible to light pollution. On dark, misty nights, petrels become disoriented by artificial lights, mainly from ships. From 2013 to 2021 at least 1 823 petrels were recorded coming aboard vessels fishing for rock lobsters. Despite limited deck lighting, bird strikes occurred on 13% of fishing nights, with 65% of birds recorded on seven nights (<1%). Strikes occurred more often in spring and autumn than in summer, probably as a result of seabird breeding phenology and seasonal weather patterns. At least 70 birds were killed (4% of those reported from the ships), mainly prions Pachyptila spp. and storm petrels of family Oceanitidae. These represent minimum estimates, because not all birds are detected by the ships’ crews. All vessels operating close to seabird breeding islands at night should be required to black out all but the most essential lights.”

Ébloui par la lumière: l›impact de la pollution lumineuse des navires sur les oiseaux marins à Tristan da Cunha

“La plupart des millions de pétrels nichant dans des terriers de l’archipel Tristan da Cunha et s’y reproduisant, est sensible à la pollution lumineuse. Lors des nuits sombres et brumeuses, les pétrels sont désorientés par les lumières artificielles provenant principalement des navires. Entre 2013 et 2021, au moins 1 823 pétrels ont été observés à bord de navires de pêche de langoustes. Des collisions d’oiseaux ont eu lieu 13% des nuits de pêche pour 65% des oiseaux observés pendant sept nuits (>1%), et ce malgré un éclairage réduit sur le pont. Les collisions étaient plus fréquentes au printemps et à l’automne, un phénomène probablement lié à la phénologie de reproduction des oiseaux marins et aux modèles météorologiques saisonniers. Au moins 70 oiseaux sont morts (soit 4% de ceux signalés par les navires); la plupart était des prions Pachyptila spp. et des pétrels tempête Oceanitidae. Ces chiffres sont des estimations à minima, étant donné que tous les oiseaux ne sont pas détectés par les équipages des navires. Il faudrait obliger les navires à éteindre tous les feux, sauf les plus essentiels, dès lors qu’ils opèrent à proximité des îles où se reproduisent les oiseaux marins.”

With thanks to Peter Ryan.

Reference:

Ryan, P.G., Ryan, E.M. & Glass, J.P. 2021.  Dazzled by the light: the impact of light pollution from ships on seabirds at Tristan da Cunha.  Ostrich DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2021.1984998.

8 John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 November 2021

A White-capped Albatross on its nest on Disappointment Island

NOTE:  This post continues an occasional series of photo essays that features photographs of the 31 ACAP-listed species, along with information from and about their photographers.  Here Graham Parker of the environmental consultancy Parker Conservation writes about the field work he has conducted on the globally Near Threatened and nationally Declining White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi on New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands.  Access accounts for all the species covered so far in the series in the Photo Essays section on this website.

 
Graham Parker with a tagged White-chinned Petrel corpse killed by a skua on Adams Island, photograph by Kalinka Rexer-Huber

Long before I became an wildlife biologist with a strong interest in seabirds, I worked as a commercial fisher.  Whilst fishing I experienced firsthand the impact fishing gear can have on wildlife through incidental capture in nets and lines.  As is well recognised, wildlife interacting with fishing gear frequently results in mortality to the animals involved.  I never worked with any fishers that took this for granted, but equally it was frequently accepted as just part of fishing.  In my later twenties I went to university as a mature student, having left school at a young age some 12 years earlier.  I was interested in pursuing studies in wildlife management and applying my education and life experience to areas where wildlife interacts with natural resource extraction, in part due to my experience as a fisher.  I now run a small family business called Parker Conservation with my wife, Kalinka Rexer-Huber and brother, Kevin Parker, where much of my work focuses on wildlife interactions with commercial fisheries, plantation forestry and farming.

Disappointment Island

The White-capped Albatross is the most bycaught albatross in New Zealand commecial fisheries.  And although the entire breeding population occurs in New Zealand, it has also been reported as the most frequently bycaught albatross in South African commercial fisheries.  The main White-capped Albatross colonies occur on Adams and Disappointment Islands in the Auckland Islands group.  Both islands are free of introduced mammalian predators (and always have been), so threats to the conservation of their White-capped Albatrosses are entirely marine based.  The species also breeds on the main Auckland Island, where feral pigs depredate chicks and feral cats at the least scavenge in White-capped Albatross colonies, but may well be depredating chicks as well (click here).  House Mice are also present on Auckland Island, but as yet there is no evidence that they attack the summer-breeding White-capped Albatrosses.  A population is present on Bollons Island in the Antipodes Islands group, but only of 50 breeding pairs or less.

 
A White-capped Albatross breeding colony among megaherbs on Disappointment Island

I have had the privilege of working on the conservation of White-capped Albatrosses over the past eight years.  My work with this species has been two-sided.  Firstly, working with Igor Debski of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) and Paul Sagar and David Thompson of NIWA, Kalinka and I have been collecting population and phenological data for the species.  We established a leg-banded population of White-capped Albatrosses on Disappointment Island to allow survival rates and the breeding population size for the species to be estimated over time.  Estimating survival rates and population trends through repeated breeding population estimates are critical to understand the degree of management required for the species and the impact of incidental bycatch in commercial fisheries.  In addition we have deployed GLS tracking devices on breeding birds to understand their spatial and temporal use of the marine environment.  Lastly, trail cameras taking time-lapse photos for a year, have allowed us to describe basic phenology that was previously not known with any confidence.

 
A White-capped Albatross on its nest on Disappointment Island

The second side of my work with White-capped Albatrosses is reducing the bycatch of the species in inshore commercial trawl and bottom longline fisheries in southern New Zealand.  Many of New Zealand’s inshore fisheries are very poorly observed, yet we know White-capped Albatrosses interact with bottom (demersal) surface (pelagic) and trawl fisheries throughout New Zealand’s entire EEZ.  Through a DOC Liaison Programme I work with inshore fishers to refine their fishing gear and practices to mitigate interactions with protected species such as seabirds and marine mammals.  Mitigation of protected species captures in inshore trawl fisheries is entirely voluntary in New Zealand.  Because White-capped Albatrosses exploit foraging opportunities as these vessels discard non-commercial fish species and fisheries waste they are at risk of trawl warp strike and net capture.  Likewise, the species is also vulnerable to capture on longline hooks.  Educating fishers about why albatross species like the White-capped are so vulnerable to population declines as a result of capture in commercial fisheries is an important part of my work.

Breeding site for White-capped Albatrosses on Disappointment Island, with the Campbell Island Daisy Pleurophyllum speciosum
Photographs by Graham Parker

It is a huge privilege to be able to spend time at seabird breeding colonies collecting data vital for conservation management.  Disappointment Island is one of the most spectacular seabird breeding colonies I have worked on.  There are some 100 000 breeding pairs of White-capped Albatrosses on a c. 380-hectare island. The island is also home to numerous other seabirds, so many that when Kalinka and I work on the island we use earplugs to sleep at night.  New Zealand or Hooker’s Sea Lions Phocarctos hookeri commonlyander through the nesting White-capped Albatrosses, as do New Zealand Fur Seals Arctocephalus forsteri on the coast.  The Gibson’s subspecies of the Antipodean Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni and Light-mantled Phoebetria palpebrata Albatrosses also call the island home.  Whilst I relish time spent on these wildlife packed islands, I also feel good when leaving them as they are not really for humans.  Our presence, although justified in the short term to collect important data, is disruptive to the locals.  Be that a Yellow-eyed Megadyptes antipodes or an Eastern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes filholi returning from a day’s fishing, a White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis displaying on a wet tussock at dusk, or an Antarctic Prion Pachyptila desolata disturbed by my headlamp as I make dinner after a long day in the White-capped Albatross colony.

Graham Parker checks White-capped Albatross nests monitored by trail cameras on Disappointment Island, photograph by Kalka Rexer-Huber

Selected Publications:

Elliott, G., Walker, K., Parker, G.C., Rexer-Huber, K. & Miskelly, C.M. 2020.  Subantarctic Adams Island and its birdlife.  Notornis  67: 153–187.

Miskelly, C.M., Elliott, G.P., Parker, G.C., Rexer-Huber, K., Russ, R.B, Taylor, R.H., Tennyson, A.J.D. & Walker, K.J. 2020.  Birds of the Auckland Islands, New Zealand subantarctic.  Notornis 67: 59–151.  [click here].

Parker, G.C., French, R., Muller, C.G., Taylor, G.A.& Rexer-Huber, K. 2020.  First northern giant petrel (Macronectes halli) breeding population survey and estimate for the Auckland Islands, New Zealand.  Notornis  67: 357–368. [click here].

Rexer-Huber, K., Walker, K., Elliott, G., Baker, G.B., Debski, I., Jensz, K. & Sagar, P.M., Thompson, D.R. & Parker, G.C. 2020.  Population trends of light-mantled sooty albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) at Adams Island and trial of ground, boat, and aerial methods for population estimates.  Notornis  67: 341-355. [click here].

Walker, K., Elliott, G.P., Rexer-Huber, K., Parker, G.C., McClelland, P. & Sagar, P.M. 2020. Shipwrecks and mollymawks: an account of Disappointment Island birds.  Notornis 67: 213-245.

Graham Parker, Parker Conservation, Dunedin, New Zealand, 01 November 2021