Peter Ryan, Director of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology

Professor Peter Ryan, Director of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa and Chair of the Mouse-Free Marion Project’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, recently presented an illustrated talk on the conservation of Marion Island.  The online talk on 7 October was in the Unlocking Nature series arranged by the Leadership for Conservation in Africa.  The LCA invites a diverse range of speakers to share their conservation stories with global audiences.

After the cats…tackling mice on Marion Island

In his presentation, titled “After the cats…tackling mice on Marion Island”, Peter discussed the devastating impacts introduced House Mice Mus musculus are having on the seabirds of the island in the southern Indian Ocean, attacking and killing both chicks and breeding adults of surface-nesting albatrosses and burrowing petrels.  He described the development of techniques that have enabled operations to eradicate mice and other rodents from sub-Antarctic islands successfully, such as Antipodes and Macquarie, and this year’s effort to eradicate mice on Gough Island.  He then went on to describe the plans currently underway by the Mouse-Free Marion Project to eradicate the mice on South Africa’s Marion Island.  If successful, Marion will be the largest sub-Antarctic island freed of its mice in a single operation.

Next in line?  A Grey-headed Albatross chick begs for food on Marion Island, with the carcass of a chick killed by mice on an adjacent nest; photograph by Ben Dilley

The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session, with Peter and Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion Project Manager, answering the audience’s many questions.  The 80-minute recording of the whole presentation can also be found on Mouse-Free Marion website in the interviews section.

With thanks to Robyn Adams, Communications Officer, Mouse-Free Marion Project.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 October 2021

Voting in New Zealand’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau/Bird of the Year (BOTY) competition for 2021 will be open from 18-31 October, and once again the globally Endangered and Nationally Critical Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis is on the list (click here).

New Zealand’s BOTY competition commenced in 2005 and despite the country being arguably the seabird capital of the world, with no less than 10 species of breeding albatrosses, none has ever come out as the top BOTY bird.  Time for a change according to the support group “Vote Toroa” that is championing the New Zealand-endemic Antipodean Albatross, which breeds on only two island groups, and is threatened by fisheries bycatch in domestic international and South American waters.  In BOTY2020 the Antipodean Albatross came second after intially being in the lead.  This year albatross lovers are hoping it will gain the top step of the podium.

A colour-banded Antipodean Albatross on Antipodes Island, photograph by Kath Walker

View all the candidates up for BOTY2021 here, and find out how the voting will work following an “instant runoff voting system” by ranking up to five birds here.  Voting is world-wide and is not restricted to New Zealanders.  As before the ACAP-listed and both globally and nationally Vulnerable Back Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni is on the list (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 October 2021

The United Kingdom-based Seabird Group has announced that the 15th International Seabird Group Conference will be hosted by University College Cork over 22-25 August 2022 in Cork, Ireland.  The conference was originally due to be held in Cork this year but will now take place in 2022.

“The Seabird Group, a registered charity, was founded in 1966 to promote and help coordinate the study and conservation of seabirds.  It maintains close links with other national and international ornithological bodies.  Members receive, and can contribute to, regular newsletters, and the colour journal Seabird, published annually.   The Group organises regular international conferences and provides small grants towards research and survey projects. It was part of the SEABIRD 2000 partnership, a major initiative to census [sic] all the seabirds breeding in Britain and Ireland between 1998 and 2002.  The Group actively encourages its members to get involved in surveys of seabirds and other research work.”

More information will be posted on the conference when it becomes available.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 October 2021

Portrait of a Sooty Albatross on Marion 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, Stefan Schoombie writes about his MSc and PhD research conducted on the globally and regionally Endangered Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca breeding on South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean.  See species so far covered in the series in the Photo Essays section on this website.

With breeding Sooty Albatrosses looking on, Stefan Schoombie abseils down a Marion Island coastal cliff to reach their nests

I have always had a keen interest in the ocean and taking pictures of its inhabitants.  However, it was only in 2013, when I joined the 70th Marion Island Overwintering Expedition (M70), that I was introduced to the wonders of the seabird.  The voyage to Marion Island involves a four- to five-day trip onboard South Africa’s Antarctic research and supply vessel, the S.A. Agulhas II, from which one has the opportunity to witness the incredible flying capabilities of seabirds, ranging from the smallest storm petrel to the largest albatross, all co-existing in the same harsh conditions.  The capability of seabirds to thrive in the Southern Ocean, notorious for its strong winds, fascinated me from the start and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to further my studies with albatrosses and petrels as the   subject.  For the past eight years I have been studying the at-sea distribution and behaviour of a range of albatross and petrel species, and in between my academic studies I overwintered on Marion Island again in 2015/16 and 2019/20 as part of the M72 and M76 expeditions.  Although I have only seen albatrosses breeding on Marion Island, I hope one day to visit some of their other sub-Antarctic sites.

A Sooty Albatross stands over its chick

In 2013 I started an MSc project with the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology looking at the demographics and movements of the Sooty Albatross.  This involved setting up long-term monitoring colonies at various sites on Marion Island, which was not an easy task. Sooty Albatrosses are cliff-nesting birds and accessing their nesting sites is often challenging and, in many cases, requires the use of climbing gear.

Two Sooty Albatrosses fly synchronously along a coastal cliff on Marion Island

Working with Sooty Albatrosses is not for the faint-hearted, but it is very rewarding as these birds provide endless awe and entertainment.  Apart from their white eye ring giving them a surprised look, they produce an unmistakable call which can be heard from far away when echoed along the cliffs. Sooty Albatrosses are excellent flyers, but landing can be challenging when trying to land on a ledge in a gusting wind.  This results in the birds often circling their nesting sites for long periods of time, producing a spectacular sight in the sky with some impressive evasive flight manoeuvres when the air traffic is high.  Part of their courting rituals also involve a synchronous flight, where two birds closely follow each other’s flight patterns.

“I’m off.” A Sooty Albatross takes flight above Marion Island’s Ship’s Cove

As part of my MSc project, I looked at the at-sea distribution of Sooty Albatrosses using GPS loggers, tracking the movement of the birds during a foraging trip.  I was astounded at the distances the birds were able to travel within a relatively short amount of time.  This prompted me to further my studies into the at-sea behaviour of albatrosses, specifically focusing on their fine-scale flight, which formed the basis of my recently awarded PhD thesis.  This project included the use of bird-borne video cameras on Sooty Albatrosses which produced a glimpse into their flying capabilities, as seen from their own perspective.  To me, these images highlighted the harsh conditions that albatrosses thrive in and just how incredible their flight really is.

Sooty Albatross chicks in a row sit up to watch the photographer

While spending time on Marion Island, it was encouraging to see that Sooty Albatross numbers seemed to have increased.  However, this may be short-lived as breeding seabirds have recently fallen prey to invasive House Mice Mus musculus which attack defenceless chicks, often leading to their death.  Unfortunately, the Endangered Sooty Albatross has also been affected by these mouse attacks on Marion Island and urgent intervention is now necessary.

Not expected to survive: a Sooty Albatross chick bears a neck wound caused by Marion's House Mice
All photographs by Stefan Schoombie

Selected Publications:

Beal, M., M.P. Dias, R.A. Phillips, S. Oppel, C. Hazin, E.J. Pearmain, J. Adams, D.J. Anderson, M. Antolos, J.A. Arata, J.M. Arcos, J.P. Arnould, J. Awkerman, E. Bell, M. Bell, M. Carey, R. Carle, T.A. Clay, J. Cleeland, V. Colodro, M. Conners, M. Cruz-Flores, R. Cuthbert, K. Delord, L. Deppe, B. J. Dilley, H. Dinis, G. Elliott, F. De Felipe, J. Felis, M.G. Forero, A. Freeman, A. Fukuda, J. González-Solís, J.P. Granadeiro, A. Hedd, P. Hodum, J. M. Igual, A. Jaeger, T.J. Landers, M. Le Corre, A. Makhado, B. Metzger, T. Militão, W.A. Montevecchi, V. Morera-Pujol, L. Navarro-Herrero, D. Nel, D. Nicholls, D. Oro, R. Ouni, K. Ozaki, F. Quintana, R. Ramos, T. Reid, J.M. Reyes-González, C. Robertson, G. Robertson, M.S. Romdhane, P.G. Ryan, P. Sagar, F. Sato, S. Schoombie, R.P. Scofield, S.A. Shaffer, N.J. Shah, K.L. Stevens, C. Surman, R.M. Suryan, A. Takahashi, V. Tatayah, G. Taylor, D.R. Thompson, L. Torres, K. Walker, R. Wanless, S.M. Waugh, H. Weimerskirch, T. Yamamoto, Z. Zajkova, L. Zango & P. Catry 2021.  Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels.  Science Advances 7(10). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd7225. [click here].

Dilley, B.J., Davies, D., Stevens, K., Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J. & Ryan, P.G. 2019.  Burrow wars and sinister behaviour among burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Ardea  107: 97-102.  [click here].

Dilley, B.J., Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J. & Ryan, P.G. 2016.  ‘Scalping’ of albatross fledglings by introduced mice spreads rapidly at Marion Island.  Antarctic Science 28: 73-80.  [click here].

Dilley, B.J., Schoombie, S., Stevens, K., Davies, D., Perold, V., Osborne, A., Schoombie, J., Brink, C.W., Carpenter-Kling, T. & Ryan, P.G. 2018.  Mouse predation affects breeding success of burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Antarctic Science 30: 93-104.  [click here]

Reisinger, R.R., Raymond, B., M.N., Hindell, M.A., Bester, M.N., Crawford, R.J.M., Davies, D., de Bruyn, P.J.N., Dilley, B.J., Kirkman, S.P., Makhado, A.B., Ryan, P.G., Schoombie, S., Stevens, K., Sumner, M.D., Tosh, C.A., Wege, M., Whitehead, T.O., Wotherspoon, S. & Pistorius, P.A. 2018. Habitat modelling of tracking data from multiple marine predators identifies important areas in the Southern Indian Ocean. Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12702. [click here].

Schoombie, S. 2015.  The population status, breeding success and foraging ecology of Phoebetria albatrosses on Marion Island.  MSc Thesis, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town.  85 pp.

Schoombie, S. 2021.  Remotely sensing motion: the use of multiple biologging technologies to detect fine-scale, at-sea behaviour of breeding seabirds in a variable Southern Ocean environment.  PhD Thesis., FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town.  [Not yet online].

Schoombie, S., Crawford, R.J.M., Makhado, A.B., Dyer, B.M. & Ryan, P.G. 2016.  Recent population trends of sooty and light-mantled albatrosses breeding on Marion Island.  African Journal of Marine Science  38: 119-127.  [click here].

Schoombie, S., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D., Glass, T. & Ryan, P.G. 2017.  The distribution of breeding Sooty Albatrosses from the three most important breeding sites: Gough, Tristan and the Prince Edward Islands.  Emu 117: 160-169.  [click here].

Schoombie, S. & Schoombie, J. 2017.  Pseudo-egg “fabrication” by Grey-headed Albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma on Marion Island.  Seabird 30: 71-74.  [click here].

Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J., Brink, C.W., Stevens, K.L., Jones, C.W., Risi, M.M. & Ryan, P.G. 2019.  Automated extraction of bank angles from bird-borne video footage using open-source software.  Journal of Field Ornithology 90: 361-372.  [click here].

Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J., Oosthuizen, A., Suleman, E., Jones, M.G.W., Pretorius, L., Dilley, B.J. & Ryan, P.G. 2017.  Avian pox in seabirds on Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean.  Antarctic Science 30: 3-12.  [click here].

Stefan Schoombie, FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, 11 October 2021