Spectacled Petrel by USA-based Lee Mitchelson who creates “traditional realism animal art”, mixed media.  “The details of the bird and plants were done in acrylic washes and Prismacolor coloured pencil”

With ACAP’s second collaboration “Painting Petrels in Peril” with ABUN (Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature) coming to an end after two months in a couple of days, it’s pleasing to report that so far over 90 artworks have been received with all nine ACAP-listed petrels and shearwaters being depicted.  A wrap up of ABUN’s 35th Project supporting conservation efforts will follow next month but here’s a taster of some of the works created for the Vulnerable and little-known Spectacled Petrel Procellaria conspicillata, endemic to the South Atlantic’s Inaccessible Island.  Enjoy!

Spectacled Petrel by Lea Finke; charcoal, chalk and sanguine

Spectacled Petrel and chick by Marion Schön; there are practically no photographs of chicks of this species so some artistic license had to be used

Spectacled Petrel by Helen Worthington, water colour

Spectacled Petrel by Lynne Waters, watercolour

View a similar collection of ABUN’s Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus art.

See selected albatross artwork from the first ABUN/ACAP collaboration early last year that had 77 artists producing no less than 324 paintings and line drawings in support of the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June.

With thanks to Kitty Harvill, ABUN Co-founder, the contributing artists, and Peter Ryan, practically the only person who has studied the Spectacled Petrel at its breeding site, for his photographs that inspired the artists.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 February 2021

The fishing hook with cut line visible on the Black Petrel's chest

The ACAP-listed Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni, a New Zealand endemic, has both a global and a national conservation status of Vulnerable.  The species breeds on only two islands, with a detailed long-term study being undertaken on Great Barrier/Aotea by Wildlife Management International (WMIL).  Annual burrow monitoring in the study colony this summer revealed an incubating bird with a fishing hook embedded in its chest.  The non-profit organisation Southern Seabirds reports on its Facebook Page on one bird that got a lucky reprieve:

“A recreational fisher clearly hooked this black petrel and was unable to remove the hook.  The trace was cut nice and short which meant the bird returned safely to its burrow on Great Barrier Island and continued to incubate its egg.  A team led by Biz Bell at WMIL had the tools required to remove the hook which was only a few millimetres into flesh.  Happily, it was still incubating its egg when last checked a few days later.  Removing a hook is only possible with the barb crushed by pliers or snipped off with hand-held bolt cutters - definitely worth having on you when you are fishing!”

The hook after removal, photographs from Wildlife Management International

To learn more rdownload the ACAP Hook Removal from Seabirds Guide.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 February 2021

Male Southern Giant Petrel attacking an incubating Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross on Gough Island; captured with a motion-sensor camera

Michelle Risi (RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK) and colleagues have published in the journal Polar Biology on Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus attacking and killing incubating Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses Thalassarche chlororhynchos (Endangered) on Gough Island.

Southern Giant Petrel depredating breeding Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross on Gough Island

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Giant petrels Macronectes spp. are the largest avian predator-scavengers in the Southern Ocean and feed both by direct predation and by scavenging carrion. However, they are not considered to be predators of adult albatrosses. We report the first records of Southern Giant Petrels M. giganteus attacking and killing incubating Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses Thalassarche chlororhynchos on Gough Island. From 2017 to 2019, a total of 87 adult carcasses were found near nests within long-term monitoring areas. In 2019, 16 motion-activated cameras filmed 32 nests between September and January, during incubation up until chicks were no longer guarded by their parents. Camera footage revealed at least six different male Southern Giant Petrels independently attacking 11 incubating Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses, killing and feeding on 5 of those. We also recorded a Southern Giant Petrel attacking a brooding Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross and carrying its chick away. Of these camera-monitored nests breeding success was 18.75%, nest failure was due to parent mortality (n = 6), chick mortality (3) and nest abandonment (17), with giant petrels being confirmed or strongly suspected in at least 14 of 26 cases (54%). We observed these attacks in two out of 11 study areas, but it is uncertain whether this behaviour occurs elsewhere on Gough Island, or whether it is a novel hunting method learnt by a few individuals. However, if this behaviour spreads across albatross colonies, the resulting increase in adult mortality could have a significant impact on this endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross population.”

With thanks to Michelle Risi for photograph and video clip.

Reference:

Risi, M.M., Jones, C.W., Osborne, A.M., Steinfurth, A. & Oppel, S. 2021.  Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus depredating breeding Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses Thalassarche chlororhynchos on Gough Island.  Polar Biology doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02810-x.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 February 2021, updated 20 February 2021

Why is the Tristan Albatross Critically Endangered?  An infographic for World Albatross Day 2021

Infographics depicting the conservation threats faced by the Critically Endangered Tristan Diomedea dabbenena and Waved Phoebastria irrorata Albatrosses have been produced to support this year’s World Albatross Day on 19 June and its chosen theme “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries”.  The ACAP Species Infographics have been designed to help inform the general public, including school learners.  They serve to complement the detailed and referenced ACAP Species Assessments and to accompany the more concise ACAP Species Summaries.

The infographic for the Critically Endangered Waved Albatross

The English version of the two infographics, and Portuguese language version of the Tristan Albatross infographic are available to download here, whilst French and Spanish versions can be found in their respective language menus of the website under, Infographies sur les espèces and Infographía sobres las especies. The infographics may be freely downloaded at a high resolution to allow for their printing and display as  posters. They also appear in the ACAP Species Summaries gallery.  Please note they are only being made available for personal use or when engaging in activities that will aid in drawing attention to the conservation crisis faced by the world’s albatrosses and petrels – when ACAP will be pleased to receive a mention.  It is envisaged further infographics will be produced as new featured species are chosen to support future World Albatross Days.

Infographic illustrator, Namasri ‘Namo’ Niumim at her worktable

The two infographics have been created by Thai illustrator Namasri ‘Namo’ Niumim from Bangkok, who is currently based in Wellington, New Zealand.  Namo, who works in gouache, is a graduate of the School of Architecture and Design at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design.  She used preliminary concept designs and texts by World Albatross Day Group member, Michelle Risi, along with photographs supplied by ACAP supporters to guide her work.

With thanks to Jonathon Barrington, Kate Huyvaert, Gustavo Jimenez, Namasri Niumim, Stephanie Prince and Michelle Risi for their inputs to the infographics.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 February 2021