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The mainland colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi at Taiaroa Head, near Dunedin in New Zealand, is one of the few albatross breeding localities accessible to the general public without the need to take an expensive sea cruise into the Southern Ocean.

This breeding season things are going well so far with 23 of the 24 eggs laid hatching and seven pairs breeding for the first time.  One of the new pairs is made up of two females (the fourth in the colony's recorded history) and their egg (fertilized by a male who "didn't stay around") has hatched.  In the previous season a different female-female pair also hatched an egg.

"If we are lucky enough to get all 24 through to fledgling time, it'll be the second highest that we've had," reports New Zealand Department of Conservation Officer Lyndon Perriman.

For more information on this season's breeding at Taiaroa Head visit: http://www.albatross.org.nz/news.html and http://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/dunedin/147084/female-pairing-raising-chick.

Female-female pairings have been recorded in other species of albatrosses, including recently in the Short-tailed Phoebastria albatrus of the North Pacific (click here).

Information on how to visit Taiaroa Head and view its albatrosses may be found at the Royal Albatross Centre's web site.

With thanks to Graham Parker for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 February 2011