“Forest Bird”, a sub-adult Short-tailed Albatross on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, photograph by Nikki Prescott

The solitary pair of Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus that breeds on the Midway Atoll’s Sand Island in the North Western Hawaiian Islands are well known.  Affectionally named George and Geraldine, they have fledged five chicks out of six annual breeding attempts since 2018/19.  No chick was produced in the 2021/22 breeding season as the egg did not hatch.  They are now incubating their seventh egg together.

George incubates the 2024/25 egg, December 2024, photogroph by Jon Plissner

George, the male of the pair, a bird in adult plumage, has been visiting Midway Atoll since November 2006 (when he was known as “Lonesome George”).  He hatched from the colony on Japan’s Torishima in 2003 and was banded there as a chick.  Geraldine is still in sub-adult plumage and is thought to be an individual that was banded on Torishima in April 2008.  She was first observed on Midway in early 2012.  The two birds were first seen together on the island in late 2016 (click here).

Two offspring of George and Geraldine meet up on Midway Atoll, photograph by Jon Plissner

On 26 November, two of George and Geraldine’s colour-banded fledglings were photographed close together back on the island as juveniles “within a few feet from Geraldine, their mother” who was then incubating.  The oldest (from the pair’s 2019/20 breeding season) has previously been seen on Midway, the younger (2020/21 breeding season) was seen for the first time.  In April 2024 the 2022/23 fledgling was seen back on the island, displaying with the 2019/20 bird.

A fifth banded Short-tailed Albatross, a sub-adult of the same Torishima cohort as Geraldine, is known as “Forest Bird” and resides elsewhere on the island, “alone a mile away from his own kind”. The Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge writes on its Facebook page: “What would improve the chances of Midway hosting a colony of Makalena [Hawaiian name for the Short-tailed Albatross] is if the so-called Forest Bird  … flew on over to the other side of the island.  If you have some creative ideas, please do share”  Perhaps offer Forest Bird a lift in a golf buggy?

Previously, a different pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses bred successfully three times in four years on the atoll’s Eastern Island, the last time in 2013/2014.  In November 2014 the male of the pair was found dead on the island.

Information from the Facebook page of the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 23 December 2024

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) has released a new infographic poster designed to help fishers minimise the risk of spreading High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5Nx when operating at sea. The poster provides practical advice to reduce the chances of avian flu transmission, safeguarding both seabirds and human health.

ACAP’s infographic outlines key precautions fishers can take onboard, including:

• Using protective gear when handling accidental birds onboard vessels
• Reporting suspected cases to local authorities
• Properly disposing of waste and maintaining hygiene onboard
• Implementing bycatch mitigation measures to reduce the chances of seabirds being caught during fishing operations and hauled on deck

The infographic poster emphasises simple, actionable steps and uses illustrations to ensure the message is clear and accessible to fishers worldwide.

The poster is currently available in English, with French and Spanish versions planned for release early next year.

Fishers and fisheries organisations are encouraged to download, print, and display the poster onboard vessels.

For more information and to download the infographic, visit the ACAP Avian Flu page.

20 December 2024

Safe behind a fence and from sea level rise: a Laysan Albatross pair in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve in December 2022, photograph by Pacific Rim Conservation

Lindsay Young (Pacific Rim Conservation, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published in the journal Pacific Science giving population details collected from 2004 to 2023 for Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed P. nigripes Albatrosses on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) fledged the first chick on the island of O‘ahu in 1947, but did not begin regularly breeding until 1992, followed by Black-footed Albatross (P. nigripes) who [sic] began breeding in 2022.  Laysan Albatross have attempted to breed at nine locations on O‘ahu since 1979 and have established colonies at four sites: Ka‘ena Point, Kuaokala, Kahuku Point, and James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge.  We monitored Laysan Albatross colonies on O‘ahu weekly from 2004 to 2023; all individuals were censused, banded, and identified to gender.   There was a population of 875 adults on O‘ahu in 2023, 490 of which were active breeders. The annual growth rate up to 2015 was 26%, but the growth rate slowed to 20% after human vandalism in 2015 that resulted in the destruction of 17 nests and at least 17 adults.  The advent of predator exclusion fencing at Ka‘ena Point (2011) and Kuaokala (2021) resulted in increased reproductive success (from 0.37 to 0.43) driven by a 25% increase in chick fledging success (from 0.60 before fencing to 0.80 after) which resulted in an estimated additional 69 chicks fledging compared to if the fence had not been constructed.  Black-footed Albatross visits increased to O‘ahu from 3 in 2017 to 317 in 2023, coinciding with the disappearance of East Island in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument which displaced 2,000 breeding pairs.  These new colonies are at higher elevations and will continue to serve as refugia against sea level rise and as such, are conservation priorities.

Reference:

Young, L.C., VanderWerf, E.S., Dittmar, E.M., Kohley, R., Goodale, K., Plentovich, S.M. & MacPherson, L. 2024.  Status of Laysan and Black-Footed Albatrosses on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i.  Pacific Science 78: 103-117.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 19 December 2024

Issue No. 12 of the Mouse-Free Marion Project’s Quarterly Newsletter for December 2024 is available to download and read.

“In this issue:

We look back at the MFM Project's highlights, successes and challenges of 2024

An Ode to Marion Island: three overwintering personnel share their favourite memories and cherished photographs from the island.

What will the Mouse-Free Marion Project be doing aboard the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage?  We break down all our planned activities and events.”

All 11 previous issues of the MFM’s Quarterly Newsletter are available online.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 18 December 2024