“Moment of Release”, a new public albatross sculpture is unveiled in New Zealand

From time to time ACAP Latest News has featured sculptures depicting albatrosses around the world. Not a common subject for public display perhaps, but examples covered in this website exist in Chile, Ecuador’s Galapagos and in the UK, with a wooden one on the USA’s Midway Atoll sadly lost to termites (click here and here). The latest sculpture that has come to ACAP’s attention is of a globally Vulnerable and Nationally Vulnerable Southern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora has very recently been unveiled in Tutukaka on New Zealand’s North Island.

Information on the new sculpture comes from the Facebook group of The Petrel Station Seabird Tours & Research - Tutukaka, NZ as follows.

“Today [17 September] at Tutukaka was the unveiling of this awesome life-size bronze sculpture called ‘Moment of Release’ which depicts the moment local bird carer legend Robert Webb releases a Southern Royal Albatross [known as Albert] he's holding aloft at the front of a boat back in 2005. The sculpture was created to commemorate and honour the amazing and selfless work Rob and his wife Robyn have put into helping and saving thousands of birds (including countless seabirds) throughout the NZ's Northland region over the last 40 odd years out at the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre. The albatross had needed care and thanks to Rob and Robyn it made a full recovery. You are both legends and the work you do for our local birds is an inspiration.”

Inspiration for the artwork: Albert the Southern Royal Albatross gets released at sea in 2005

ACAP Latest News reached out for more information and received a quick reply: “The seabird released was a Southern Royal Albatross (which the sculpture represents). And there were actually two artists who collaborated on the creation - Susan Dinkelacker and Dell Pryor. One created the albatross, and the other created Robert - a very talented pair.”

Read more about the unveiling here and watch a two-minute video about the release of Albert and to hear from the two sculptors.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 19 September 2023

Three study colonies on New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands, The Snares, were the focus for the population study; photograph by Javier Quiñones

A report prepared by David Thompson and Paul Sagar (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand) for New Zealand’s Conservation Services Programme on the Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri has been released by the Department of Conservation. 

The report’s Executive Summary follows:

This report presents a summary of the results of demographic studies at three study colonies of southern Buller’s albatrosses Thalassarche bulleri bulleri breeding at Tine Heke the Snares from 25 March to 9 April 2023.

Demographic studies at the three study colonies on North East Island have been undertaken annually 1992-2023, with the exception of 2018 and 2021, and so this report incorporates some of these data in the current analysis. Estimates of the numbers of breeding pairs, made by recording the contents of each nest mound, decreased in all three study colonies compared to 2022, when estimated numbers were at an all-time high over the 30 plus years of this study. With the assumption that the combined total number of breeding pairs in the three study colonies was representative of North East Island as a whole then the breeding population probably peaked in 2005-2006 and has since undergone marked annual variations. 

A total of 374 birds that had been banded previously in the study colonies as breeding adults of unknown age were recaptured. A further 82 breeding birds were banded in the study colonies - these are presumed to be first-time breeders. Estimates of annual survival of birds banded as breeders improved in 2022 with an estimate of 0.931. During the period 1992-2004 all chicks that survived to near-fledging in the study colonies were banded and their survival to return to the study colonies in subsequent years has been monitored. This year 139 of these birds were recaptured, with birds from cohorts banded from 1998 to 2004 being recaptured for the first time. This demonstrates the long- term monitoring required to obtain reliable estimates of survival of such known-age birds. Of the 139 known-age birds recaptured in 2023, 11 were found breeding for the first time, and so were recorded as being recruited to the breeding population. In addition, three birds that had been banded as near-fledging in the study colonies during September 2013 and September 2014 were also recaptured for the first time. 

In 2020 50 Global Location Sensing (GLS) tags were attached to the metal leg bands of breeding birds in the Mollymawk Bay study colony; of these, 31 were retrieved in 2022 and a further 3 during the 2023 field season. 

Twelve trail cameras were deployed at breeding colonies and set to record one photograph every hour during daylight in April 2022. All of these were checked in 2023 when the SD cards were removed and replaced with new cards. 

Reference: 

Thompson, D., Sagar, P. 2023. Population studies of southern Buller's albatross on Tini Heke/The Snares. POP2019-04 final report prepared by NIWA for the Department of Conservation. 18 p.

18 September 2023

An Antipodean Albatross in flight; photograph by Jordan Shand

The Conservation Services Programme of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation have published a report by Graham Parker (Parker Conservation, Dunedin, New Zealand) and colleagues on the Endangered Antipodean Albatrosses of Antipodes Island. 

The report’s Summary as follows:

The Antipodean wandering albatross Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis has been in decline since a population crash in 2005-07. Declining numbers appear to have been largely driven by high female mortality, but low chick production—with fewer birds breeding and reduced breeding success—has compounded the problem. To tease out the causes of falling numbers of Antipodean wandering albatrosses and identify the effectiveness of potential solutions, research includes an annual visit to the breeding grounds on Antipodes Island. This report describes the results of the field programme in the 2022/23 breeding season, and the preliminary findings from tracking of juveniles since January 2022. 

There are some signs that the rate of decline might be slowing. The number of Antipodean wandering albatrosses breeding has been roughly stable for the past four seasons, and female survival shows some suggestion of improving since 2014 (4-year rolling averages), although it is still highly variable year to year. Breeding success in 2022 at 72% approached the average pre-crash nesting success of 74%, although the mean 2006–2022 rate remains comparatively low at 62%. However, the actual number of chicks produced remains small, even in good breeding-success years, since numbers nesting remain low. Recruitment is starting to draw from the (much smaller) cohorts produced since the crash, so population numbers will soon no longer be supplemented by higher recruitment rates seen over the past decade. 

The population has been approximately stable for the last four years. However, there is so far no evidence of any sustained improvement in Antipodean wandering albatross demography, as required for the population to recover, with tentative improvements recorded here merely slowing the decline. 

Recommendations include ongoing mark-recapture monitoring of demographic and population-size trends; an island-wide population size estimate; and research into causes of declines. More-targeted ongoing engagement is also needed, internationally and domestically, to achieve better bycatch mitigation in line with ACAP best practice. 

Reference:

Parker G.C., Rexer-Huber K., Walker K., Elliott G. 2023. Antipodean wandering albatross population study 2023. Final report to the Department of Conservation. Parker Conservation, Dunedin. 21 p. 

15 September 2023

A Vulnerable White-chinned Petrel at sea; photgraph by Petre Ryan

The Conservation Services Program of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has released a report by Kalinka Rexer-Huber (Parker Conservation, Dunedin, New Zealand) and colleagues on the White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis population of the Antipodes Island. 

The report’s Summary follows:

This study provides an updated estimate of the white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) breeding population size on Antipodes Island. We also detail the setup of a mark-recapture study suitable for estimating key vital rates and detecting population change, adult survival in particular. Lastly, we document blood and feather collection for a wider study on mercury contamination, and deployment and recovery of time-depth recorders for data on dive depth of white-chinned petrels. 

Population size estimate. Burrow density is estimated from a representative sample of burrowed areas then corrected for burrow occupancy and extrapolated to the available area of nesting habitat to estimate the breeding population of white-chinned petrels. For an estimate as accurate and precise as possible we built on previous efforts in 2009–11 and 2021–22 (Thompson 2019; Elliott & Walker 2022). To estimate burrow density we used the distance sampling dataset from 2021–22 and expanded the sampling coverage across the whole island, adding 93 transects to a new total of 248 island-wide sampling locations. Distance sampling enabled burrow density estimates that explicitly account for burrow detectability. Occupancy was assessed by inspecting 293 burrows just after laying, calculating rates and corrections using the approach developed for the 2009–11 study (burrow numbers corrected for entrances that are not in fact burrows, and for other species using white-chinned petrel burrows). The area used by white-chinned petrels, with two habitat types distinguishable, was drawn from comprehensive habitat mapping 2021–22. Antipodes Island had an estimated 26,400 (95% CI: 22,200–31,600) white-chinned petrel pairs breeding in Dec 2022 during early incubation. Burrow detectability was different in the two habitat types and occupancy rates differed, so for accuracy the estimate used burrow density, area and occupancy specific to each habitat type. These refinements to 2009–11 and 2021–22 methods result in a population size estimate here that is smaller but more accurate and precise. 

Demographic study setup. Population change is more readily detected via intensive study of birds in a representative study population, so we established a mark-recapture study to estimate vital rates, survival in particular. Marked burrows in two study areas contain 169 banded white-chinned petrels. For accurate, precise survival estimates this marked population needs building further, along with recaptures at existing marked burrows for a minimum of three years. 

Recommendations. An efficient and effective long-term monitoring strategy could combine annual intensive monitoring effort in a representative study population, as set up here, supplemented by occasional whole- island population size estimates (5–10-year intervals). Ongoing mark-recapture will enable robust trend estimation over time, with whole-island estimates providing occasional more-general overview of breeding numbers. 

Reference:

Rexer-Huber K., Parker G.C., Elliott G., Walker K. 2023. Antipodes white-chinned petrel population size and survival study setup. Final report to the Department of Conservation. Parker Conservation, Dunedin. 18 p. 

13 September 2023