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Solander: Kingdom of the Birds

16 May 2013 – 2.45pm

Steeped in history, Solander Island stands as a reminder of how beautiful it once was in this land which once was the kingdom of the birds.

Monday 6 May

Our party of 3 comprising Dr Dominique Filippi, Director Sextant Technology Ltd, Jean Claude Stahl (photographer scientist) and myself (Michael Hall) spend time readying for the trip. Comprehensive checks of our bags at the Invercargill Doc office, to ensure no stray flora or fauna make it to the island, are carried out along with safety briefings and last minute words of advice.

Tuesday 7 May

We head off to the rendezvous point with the chopper, Clifton, a blip on the map south of Invercargill and are greeted by Rob, former pilot for the famous Jacques Cousteau and almost as famous boat Calypso.

Flying over the sea in the chopper, the steep cliffs of Solander loom out of the mist like a latter day Kong island. Once home to a band of hapless sealers for five years, forgotten by their employers and left to fend for themselves, this looks like no place for an extended stay!

Approaching Solander, accessible only with permit and as weather permits. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Hovering above our landing spot seals scatter in all directions, a flurry of noise and activity sees our provisions for the next few days unloaded and then, in a moment the chopper is gone, silence bar the crashing waves and honking of seals.

Jean Claude points us towards our new campsite not far from the landing spot. I stumble along the beach doing my best to keep up with the two Frenchmen, alas my city legs are no match for them as they steam ahead.

When I finally arrive at the site two tents are nearly up. Several large rocks fall from the cliffs above and we decide it might be wise to move our site elsewhere.

Second campsite in the colony. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Our new campsite, higher up a small gully, is right in the middle of the action.

The first thing I notice is the chicks. Looking like little furry dodos they sit high in the nest waiting for their next feed. As you near the nests, the chicks make a clop, clop sound; if get too close they spew, nice!

Buller’s albatross chick. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Pairs of the bigger birds resplendent with their striking yellow beaks and dark grey markings set against white plumage, waddle around each other awkwardly, nodding and rubbing beaks in a ritualised mating dance, while singles sit patiently, waiting to be noticed.

Above us the sky is filled with birds, this is where the albatross is truly king.

Wheeling high above they hug the cliffs, riding the eddies and updrafts with ease. At sea they skim the surface, often glancing a wing into the water, but still never seeming to flap, mesmerizing.

Albatross in flight. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Weds 8 May

Time is spent attaching the loggers to the birds, these will record flight details, and also proximity to boats, useful information when looking at ways to understand and preserve these amazing creatures.

Close up Buller's albatross, or mollymawk. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Close up of a Buller’s albatross, or mollymawk. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Jean Claude informs me one recorder showed a flight of 3000km over a 32 hour period, that’s an average speed of nearly 100kmh, and again over water.

After two relatively fine days taking photos attaching loggers and enjoying extensive 3 course banquets on the camp stoves, our honeymoon with Solander is about to end.

Thursday 9 May

The day breaks looking a little more ominous, the sea is getting big as a front closes in from the southwest. By midday we are holed up in our tents the wind is screaming, rain , hail, thunder and lightning, this is the Solander Island I was warned about. Still the birds are happy.

Albatross at home on rough seas. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Friday 10 May

The weather has cleared and time for this city boy to take his leave, the hardened scientists are staying on to retrieve the loggers.

At the copter landing site I stare out to sea. A convoy of Albatross rises effortlessly on some unseen current, and glide over me, a fitting send off from this remarkable place.

Driving back to Invercargill in the DOC van we stop at McCracken Rest. A rusted signpost points out to sea ‘Solander Island 72km’ I look hoping to glimpse the island but see nothing.

Signpost, McCrackens Rest, ‘Solander Island 72km’. Photo credit: Michael Hall © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

I would like to thank the following people for their help and support on the trip;

Sharon and Janice from Doc, Janice for the ride back into town.
Terry Nicholas from Hokunui Runanga, for his Hospitality and Hot shower.
Rob and Sam the Helicopter pilots for getting us there safely.
Dominique and Jean Claude for their companionship and for watching out for me.
Susan Waugh for sending us down.

Further reading;

Seal Hunting around Solander Island - Article in Poverty Bay Herald, published 1914
Te Ara’s article on New Zealand sealers
Martin Cathy singing Davy Lowston, a chilling tale of shipwreck in the southern Arctic in 1810

By Te Papa | Posted in Birds | Also tagged ornithology, science, Solander Island | Comments (0)

Sense and Sensibility in the Southern Ocean – A character-building story of albatross and researcher personalities in extreme conditions. Part 4. Le Champ des Albatros

4 March 2013 – 8.46am

Here at the haut lieu of albatross biology – Le Champ des Albatros, Crozet Islands the main study site for Wandering Albatrosses in the French Southern Territories, we have now done a round of all the behaviour testing, GPS deployments and nest checks that await us over the next month. We arrived a week ago, following a rugged hike over the island, and have spent the last days experiencing the ever-changing weather, the slow turn of the world of the albatross, with a few daily changeovers at the c. 150 nests we are helping to monitor.

We are connecting the oceanic world of the albatrosses, through tracking their at-sea movements with GPS technology, with their ‘at-home’ behaviour – by assessing how birds with different personalities deploy their time when they go to sea. The behaviour tests consist of a highly regulated series of observations to certain stimuli, which form part of our daily activity with the birds, such as approaching the nest to check their bands; and a test of response to ‘novel’ stimuli, in this case 50 cm high, blue, characterful, inflatable ‘spacehopper’ named Betsy – in the form of a smiley little cow. She has several advantages: being inflatable is easy to pack; being the size of a small albatross, being large enough to be of interest to a bird at the nest; being blue and funny-shaped, something we’re reasonably sure no albatross will have yet encountered! We note in detailed form whether birds turn their heads, clack their bills, vocalise, or in rare cases, simply sleep their way through the encounter.

Sam Patrick and Julien Collet discuss results from personality tests, assisted by Betsy, the blue test cow. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

Around the nesting birds, we’re surrounded by young albatrosses learning the routine of the intricate dance of their elders. Each afternoon, young birds gather in groups and take turns displaying, including the wing-spread spectacle, complete with primordial scream and rattling of bills. Around them incubating adults seem nonplussed, or at times display slight annoyance at being solicited by over-zealous youngsters. It’s a marvellous spectacle, and I can spend hours crouched in dip in the hill out of the ever-present wind, watching them as their different configurations turn and reform.

Young wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans display at the Crozet Islands. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

Within metres of the albatross colony, life abounds in all forms, from other species of bird, expanses of moss, and penguin and marine mammal colonies. One an off day, we were able to go to a local penguin nesting area, with some 80,000 king penguins in residence, and three other penguin species among other creatures. We spent the day on the lookout for penguins with loggers attached, arriving home from sea to feed their chicks. The water crashes blue and white all around the shore, with gigantic kelp swirling back and forth around the rocky shoreline.

Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes chrysochome hops between rocks. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes filholi hops between rocks. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

We have another three weeks here at the research cabin, accompanied by three new visitors, here to study the penguins in the nearby colony. Meanwhile, I have managed to find a copy of the book which this blog is named after. Observing the albatrosses is infinitely more inspiring at this point than the outcomes anticipated by the Miss Dashwoods.

By Susan Waugh | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds | Also tagged Wandering Albatross | Comments (0)

Sense and Sensibility in the Southern Ocean – A character-building story of albatross and researcher personalities in extreme conditions. Part 1. Departing La Reunion for the Crozet Islands

12 February 2013 – 3.46pm

A two-month long research programme is getting underway for Te Papa Senior Curator Dr Susan Waugh, in collaboration with the French CNRS Research Institute and Polar Institute (IPEV). Susan departs from La Reunion on February 7th to take part in a programme of work on the personality of Albatrosses on the Crozet Islands.

Departure Board of the Marion Du Fresne.
Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa

It takes over a week to get to the islands, starting at the tropical island of La Reunion, a French Department off the coast of Madagascar. The magnificent 120m French Research Vessel, the Marion Dufresne takes scientists each summer season to three remote French territories in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Marion du Fresne and local boy at port in St Denis La Reunion. Image: Susan Waugh, (C) Te Papa.

Marion du Fresne and local boy at port in St Denis La Reunion. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa

Dr Samantha Patrick from the CNRS is leading the field programme, part of a larger study underway by Dr Henri Weimerskirch on albatrosses of the Southern Indian Ocean. The birds have been studied over several decades, and thanks to this long-term programme, scientists are able to understand how individual birds are making decisions during their breeding cycle.

Samantha Patrick CNRS Researcher on board RV Marion du Fresne. Image: Susan Waugh, (C) Te Papa.

Samantha Patrick CNRS Researcher on board RV Marion du Fresne. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

This time, there are about 20 researchers on board, all on their way to study the penguins, albatrosses, elephant seals and glaciers of these far-flung sites. Others will be staying on board to take part in an oceanographic research programme.

Scientists Boarding Marion du Fresne. Image: Susan Waugh, (C) Te Papa.

Scientists Boarding Marion du Fresne. Image: Susan Waugh, © Te Papa.

Susan’s work during the trip will be to deploy a new variety of satellite tracking device on the wandering albatrosses, and to assist the work of Sam and field assistant Julien, in carrying out personality tests to determine whether individual birds have more or less shy characteristics. This work is being linked to how well birds perform their parenting duties, and how they succeed in finding food in the vast Southern Ocean.

Stay tuned for more on Susan’s adventure…

By Susan Waugh | Posted in Birds, Field trips | Also tagged biodiversity, Scientific, Southern Ocean | Comments (2)

Albatrosses in competition for best looks

20 July 2012 – 8.25am

Over the next month, Te Papa is working with the community of enthusiasts and researchers on seabirds – albatrosses and petrels in particular – to showcase the unique work of this group, and to allow a glimpse of the beauty, vulnerability, and amazing adaptations of these birds and unique environments they inhabit.

Our focus on this group of birds relates to the need for conservation efforts needed to arrest declines in several key populations – at present, the albatross group is the under threat at a higher level than any other group of birds, with a high proportion of species listed as globally threatened with extinction, and the rate of change of species status higher than other groups.

Learn more with the Global Seabird Programme of BirdLife International

In conjunction with the organisers of the 5^th International Albatross and Petrel Conference, Te Papa launched the initiative on 13 July. The competition is open to anyone to contribute images via the Te Papa website. Several other groups have helped to sponsor the competition and prizes including Woolf Photography, Albatross Encounter, Te Papa Press, Friends of Te Papa and the Ornithological Society of New Zealand.

Access the competition website

Edit: The competition is now closed, but the photos are still available

Images have come in from across the globe, and include some of the world’s rarest and most endangered species. Some particularly stunning images include shots of birds on the nest with their young, and pictures of the incredible habitats in which the birds spend their time at sea, or where they nest.

Father & Son (Indian yellow-nosed albatross), 2012, Amsterdam Island, by Jeremie Demay. © Jeremie Demay

In particular, we were seeking to engage with the community of researchers and bird-lovers, many of whom work on a voluntary basis to do conservation and population monitoring studies. Others are dedicated professionals; all have unique moments to share of their experience with albatrosses and petrels. The documenting of people at work with birds often is difficult…researchers try to minimise the impact of their studies on species, and extra time to take photos in the midst of pressured work programmes can be lacking, but we’re really delighted that some of these field biologists have take the time to share special moments.

Arms wide open (Wandering albatross), 2011, Antipodes Island, by James C. Russell © James C. Russell

It was particularly impressive to have uploads of images direct from field sites dotted around the Southern Ocean. Amsterdam Island is one of the remotest islands on the planet, more than 1000 km from any continent; it is plum in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Yet it harbours a keen group of researchers who over-winter as part of a French research programme. And several are apparently keen photographers!

Delicate touch (White-faced storm petrel), 2007, Mokohinau Islands, by James C. Russell © James C. Russell

Among my favourite birds to see at sea (when not being blown-away by the splendour of large, white, glamorous albatrosses), are the tiny storm petrels, nicknamed ‘Jesus Birds’ for their ability to patter their feed on the water. One entry portrays the fragility and delicacy of these enigmatic little species expertly as it skips above the water surface. Another shows how small and delicate they are in the hands of an expert handler.

White-bellied storm-petrel, 2010, Lord Howe Island group, by Sarah Jacob. © Sarah Jacob

As well as the birds going about their daily business, there is a focus on interactions between humans and birds at sea, with the often positive comradeship of sea-going humans and birds portrayed delightfully in some shots themselves.

Constant campanions (Salvin’s Albatross), 2011, Kaikoura, by Peter Langlands © Peter Langlands

In short, there’s something for everyone on this web-page. Either for the photographer to encourage them to explore the lighting, dynamic tension, and rare circumstances that lead to ‘just the right shot’ or for the lovers of sea-creatures and birds. For albatross and petrel boffins, a visit to this web page is rather like having too much cake for tea!

Access the competition website

Edit: The competition is now closed, but the photos are still available

By Susan Waugh | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds, Events, News, Photography | Also tagged competition, International Albatross and Petrel Conference | Comments (1)

Te Papa Curator Visits to Yamashina Institute, champions of Short-tailed Albatross Recovery project

1 May 2012 – 9.15am

The Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Abiko houses the largest collection of birds in Japan, with over 60,000 specimens, including the newly discovered Okinawan Rail Rallus okinawae, New Zealand Kakapo, and one of the world’s rarest species, the Short-tailed Albatross. The exchange with the Institute in Tokyo is part of a programme of work to develop a major exhibition at Te Papa on Albatross biology and conservation.

Kiyoaki Ozaki of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Tokyo and Susan Waugh, Te Papa Senior Curator of Natural Environment discuss latest work on the Short-tailed Albatross recovery programme being conducted by the Institute. Te Papa

The visit was hosted by Kiyoaki Ozaki, Chief Researcher of the Division of Avian Conservation and Deputy Director General of the Institute. In addition to collections of birds, the Institute conducts novel and highly effective bird conservation programmes. An example is the project to restore the Short-Tailed Albatross to non-threatened status, currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. These birds were once one of the most common albatrosses but over the late 19th and early twentieth centuries many millions of birds were harvested to make feather bedding, with most of the feathers exported fromJapan. This industry supported hundreds of workers, with a village of 300 living on the main breeding site Torishima Island, an active volcano, 500km remote from the Japanese mainland. The species was thought to be extinct in 1949 but was rediscovered breeding in 1951 on Torishima, its sole breeding site.

Since that time, efforts by many researchers have been deployed to safeguard the birds, which numbered only 6 birds in 1951. Methods were developed to attract birds to safer breeding sites, away from landslides and the potential of eruptions. Decoys and sound systems have been deployed, and a second breeding site on a more stable piece of land at Torishima has been established, with the numbers of breeding birds using this area steadily rising over the last few years. Almost all the birds in the breeding population are banded. The Short-tailed Albatrosses experienced rapid population growth at 6-8% per year in recent times, and now there are somewhere near 400 breeding pairs in the population.

Yamashina Institute of Ornithology researchers transfer chicks to Mukojima Island, using specially constructed crates. Photo: Yamashina Institute of Ornithology.

Further efforts have been made to transfer chicks from Torishima to a new site in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands at Mukojima Island, some 850 km from mainland Japan. Specialist equipment was developed to transport the chicks, to ensure they were not overheated, and stress was minimal on the birds.

Read about the transfer of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology’s website

Short-tailed albatross juvenile translocated and photographed at Mukojima Island.
Photo USFWS Endangered Species

Birds were hand-raised at their adoptive site for four months. Researchers Tomohiro Deguchi and others at Yamashina Institute studied how to do this most effectively for Short-tailed Albatrosses. New Zealand researcher Lyndon Perriman, who looks after Royal Albatrosses and sometimes hand-raises chicks at Taiaroa Head, Otago Peninsula was part of the team that undertook this study

Read the research abstract about this project

Previous experiments in the techniques had been trialled on the less-threatened Laysan and Black-footed albatrosses, with chick transfers being successfully conducted by the Yamashina Institute research team. Short-tailed Albatrosses from the transfers are starting to return to their adopted site, with around 50% of the chicks raised by hand, returning to Mukojima Islands. These birds are starting to take part in courtship displays, and it is hoped that they may start to breed in the next year.

What the adults look like – Short tailed albatross adult and chicks. Photo Jlfutari at en.wikipedia

By Te Papa | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds | Also tagged conservation, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Mukojima Island, short-tailed albatross, Torishima Island, Yamashina Institute of Ornithology | Comments (0)

Fish and birds in Tokyo

24 April 2012 – 9.38am

Work at the fisheries Convention on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna meeting on bycatch and ecological effects of fishing has progressed in Tokyo in March. The group met to consider ways of reducing seabird, turtle and shark bycatch in fishing for southern bluefin tuna around the southern Ocean.

Albatross and petrel bycatch remains a tricky issue for the management of tuna fisheries, with many birds annually killed in longline fisheries due to their being captured on fishing hooks. Around 3 billion tuna hooks are set annually, and albatrosses captured may number up to 100 thousand annually. Incidental mortality in tuna fisheries affects many seabird species, many of which are threatened with extinction.

See BirdLife Internationals Save-the-Albatross website for source of these statistics

Meeting of specialist on bycatch of seabirds, sharks and turtles at the CCSBT Working Group in Tokyo on 28 - 30 March 2012, at which New Zealand scientists, including Te Papa researchers were participants. Photo: Susan Waugh

A report commissioned by the Ministry of Fisheries, and prepared by Te Papa scientists and collaborators was presented. The report discussed how data on seabird distributions, fishing data, and information about bird-catch rates could be used to identify which areas and times of fishing were most problematic for tuna fishing in the Indian and Pacific Ocean areas. The study used data and methods developed over many years with collaborating parties BirdLife International and Sextant Technology, along with inputs from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), the Ministry of Fisheries, NIWA, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique in France and a number of seabird researchers nationally and internationally.

A figure from seabird ecological risk assessment analyses indicating the density per square kilometre of species around the Southern Ocean. This shows a high density particularly in the New Zealand area. The study presented by Te Papa researchers and collaborators to the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna working group examined which areas and species were most at risk of adverse effects of longline fishing for tuna. Image: after Waugh et al. 2012.

The CCSBT working group agreed to continue work on this project, and will seek to refine the analyses using the most recent dataset available about bird distributions and fishing activity, including important datasets held by BirdLife International derived from satellite tracking of seabirds.

Tuna for sale in Tsukiji market in Tokyo, March 2012. Photo: Susan Waugh.

By Susan Waugh, Senior Curator Natural Environment

By Te Papa | Posted in Biodiversity, Fish | Also tagged bird-catch, bycatch, fishing, petrel, seabird distribution, tuna | Comments (0)

Our Far South: Campbell Island – the return

6 March 2012 – 7.33am

Our first sight of land since Antarctica in the dim small hours of the 3rd of March was Campbell Island.

Campbell island. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa.

Campbell Island is home to more species of albatross than anywhere else in the New Zealand region with 6 species breeding here. The most conspicuous of these being the Southern Royal albatross that soar over head. These massive birds with a wingspang over 3.5m stand out with their briliant white plumage against the sombre tones of the landscape and the darkened sky. We spent most of an afternoon and evening up the col Lyall board walk which winds up past Beeman hill and on up to the Western Cliffs.

Albatross ‘gamming’. Photo Victor Anderlini.

Later in the day a large number of royal albatross were congregating in small groups, a behaviour known as gamming. with displays of head shaking and wing flapping, squawking and other unusual vocal, clacking and popping sounds produced with their enormous beaks.

Royal albatross and chick. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te papa.

The experience of having an albatross soar low and fast right above your head is a very memorable thing, the swoosh of their wings like fighter jets. We were lucky to see some nesting birds with small chicks. This is my second time on Campbell Island, the first time was 1995 where I was stranded along with a couple of other scientists after the boat we were sailing in got caught in a storm.

royal albatross. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa.

That was the last year that there was a manned weather station on the island. the buildings are still here and much as I remembered them, however since then the final introduced predator, the rats, have been removed.

Royal albatross. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te papa.

This rugged, boggy island had been used for farming and the last of the sheep had been removed in 1990/91. The amount of regrowth of the tussocks, mega herbs and dracophyllum shrubs is astounding. The old coast watchers hut that had been used in the 1940′s (that in 1995 still had a partial roof),

Ruins of the coastwatchers hut.

was pretty much ruins, with just a few frames of walls remaining. The sealions, that last time I was here were mostly in Northwest Bay, were now using the coves and inlets of Perseverence harbour much more. There has been a small growth of numbers on the island, in contrast to the diminishing numbers on the Auckland islands.

Elephant seal. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa.

The Elephant seals have been declining in numbers, as have the Rock hopper penguins. This may be a real indicator of global warming, as it is possible that they are having to dive deeper or travel further to hunt their prey, decreasing the success rate of pups and chicks.

Campbell Island, Northwest Cliffs.

We are now heading for the Antipodes islands, which was not part of the original plan. Because the sea ice forced our early retreat from Antarctica and the remarkably smooth seas we have had on our northward journey we have a little extra time. Entering this very productive area just off the continental shelf has already afforded us glimses of a mixed pod of long finned pilot whales and Bottlenose dolphins. the Antipodes islands are pest free apart from mice, people onboard are working to raise money for DOC to embark on a project to eradicate them, and expensive business. About $1,000,000 will be required, but the achievement of which will no doubt be a huge boon for the abundant birdlife on the island.

By antonvanhelden | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds, Field trips, Mammals, Whales | Also tagged Antarctica, Our Far South, Seals | Comments (0)

Our Far South: from shipwrecks to high seas

16 February 2012 – 8.06am

Becalmed in Carnley Harbour. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa

I awoke to find that the boat had moved over night to the bottom end of the Auckland Islands, into Carnley harbour, with Adams island to our south. Adams island is home to Gibson’s wandering albatross – DNA research is currently being carried out to determine if Gibson’s Albatross is distinct from other wandering albatross species.

We had incredibly calm weather and took a zodiac ride up one of the arms of the misty harbour to visit what was left of the wreck of the Grafton. One of the great tales of survival of early sailing in the our sub-Antarctic seas. The five men aboard set about extending one of their life dingies, they had to even make their own nails! they made a sturdy little craft to take three of them back to New Zealand in search of help for the two men left behind.

Wreck of the Grafton. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa.

Now what is left of the Grafton is used primarily as a sealion hangout.

Our investigations on the rocky shore revealed something that surprised me, a spider living in the intertidal zone! I hope that when I get back to Te Papa that my photo will be enough to help Phil Sirvid identify it.

We spent the morning looking at areas within Carnley Harbour, including an area where rata trees were once cut down by the crew of a German merchant vessel at the start of World War Two. They used the wood as fuel to enable their vessel to reach Chile.

Adams Island in fog, Carnley Harbour. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa

“Figure of Eight” Island is home to the most southern breeding site for NZ sealions in the Auckland group. Unlike sealions at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island these sealions breed in the bush on this small flat islet.

It has been a calm sailing so far, and so there has been a chance to give lectures and have debates. The primary one today being about the NZ sealion and their interactions with the commercial fishery for arrow squid. Lots of things may be influencing the decline of the this sealion population, however it seems clear that fisheries are unlikely to be completely blameless in this. Female NZ sealions, have to work very hard to get the food they need to be able to keep themselves in good condition and to pass that on to their dependent pups. The squid fishery coincides with the exact time when female sealions are foraging hardest to meet the demands of supplying milk to their pups. NZ sealion is the only sealion in the world where the survival of females is less than that of males: it is mostly female sealions that historicaly have been caught as by-catch in the squid fishery. Which surely can not help when a population like this is affected by other influences like disease outbreaks and even normal levels of predation.

Sealion Exclusion Devices (SLEDs) have been put in the trawl nets of the fishery. There is much debate about the chances of a sealion surviving being thrown out of a net at 200m depth. the fishing industry claims that they are now not catching any sealions, but perhaps these SLEDs are just removing the evidence of mortality from their catch.

I have been keeping a look out for Whales…you can only see them if you look!

Heading south. Image WWF.

After lunch we set sail out in to the wilds of the Southern Ocean on our way further south to Macquarie Island. I am greatly looking forward to seeing the elephant seals at Macquarie.

By antonvanhelden | Posted in Birds, Bugs, insects and spiders, Field trips, History, Mammals, Plants, Whales | Also tagged Auckland Islands, Our Far South, sealions, shipwreck, Whales | Comments (0)

Our far South: Return to Enderby

14 February 2012 – 12.13pm

I visited Enderby in 1995 as part of the DOC Sealion project. The project is still going today. Sadly the most noticeable thing on my return was the much smaller numbers of sealions and pups.

It is very saddening to hear from Louise Chilvers (DOC’s sealion biologist) that the population has decreased by 50% in the last 12 years alone. In part because of disease epidemics, but probably also because of other factors such as fishing and climate change which may be having an impact on these remarkable animals.

Sea lion pup suckling. Photo Anton van helden. Copyright Te Papa.

New Zealand sealions Phocarctos hookeri, are the deepest diving eared seals in the world. They have been recorded to dive to depths in excess of 700m. They are sadly, now the rarest sealion in the world, with a population of only about 10,000 animals.

The island vegetation has recovered however. After the removal of cattle, rabbits and all other mammalian pest species the undergrowth in the southern Rata forests and the tussock fields that ring the island have bounced back vigourously.

Southern Royal albatross, Auckland Islands. Photo Anton van Helden, copyright Te Papa.

The yellow-eyed penguins seem to be doing well, which is heartening.

Yelloweyed penguin. Photo Anton van Helden. Copyright Te Papa.

One Southern Right whale was seen, a reminder that in the winter months they come into Port Ross in the Auckland Islands to calve. At nearly 18m these animals feed on tiny swarming crustaceans called Copepods that they sieve through the water with their long baleen.

Right whale, Port Ross, Auckland islands. Image WWF.

Louise Chilvers and Anton van Helden, Enderby Island.

The Te Papa Fish team will be coming down here in the next week or so to investigate the animals that live deep down in the waters around the island.

By antonvanhelden | Posted in Birds, Field trips, Mammals, Penguins, Uncategorized, Whales | Also tagged Auckland Islands, Enderby Island., Our Far South, Penguins, sealions | Comments (0)

A Te Papa curator in Ecuador

29 August 2011 – 5.54pm

Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Colin Miskelly is in Guayaquil as the expert advisor to the New Zealand delegation at the 6th ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels) meeting, and has provided this report.

Waved albatross adult brooding a small chick on Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, on 27 August 2011. Photo: Colin Miskelly, Te Papa

The ACAP meeting has been a great opportunity to meet with albatross researchers and conservation workers from around the globe, which has direct relevance to two Te Papa events in the pipeline. The first is a proposed major exhibition on albatrosses, which is in the planning stages. The albatross research community not only provide the exciting new stories, but crucially may provide ways to obtain specimens that could be used to tell the stories. The days of collecting live bird specimens for exhibitions are long over both in New Zealand and much of the world, and so museums are often reliant on field researchers and wildlife managers to provide freshly dead specimens that they may find in the course of their work.

Te Papa will also be hosting the 5th International Albatross and Petrel Conference in August 2012 (organised by NIWA staff). Many of the ACAP delegates are hoping to come, and have been seeking information from the New Zealand delegates about both the conference and other opportunities while they are in the country.

Ten of us organised a one-day field trip to Isla de la Plata during a break in the meeting. This was a long way to travel in a day – 3 hours driving each way to Puerto Lopez, and over 2 hours each way in a boat out to the island. But it was worth it for the privilege of seeing one of the world’s most endangered albatrosses – a single waved albatross brooding its small chick. Most of the world’s waved albatross population breeds on Hood Island in the Galapagos Islands, but a few pairs breed on Isla de la Plata, which is sometimes referred to as the poor man’s Galapagos.

Guayaquil is a large city of about 2 million people, but still has some interesting wildlife near the city centre. From the windows of the fourth floor meeting room we could see large iguanas in the canopy of the trees in a central city park. These impressive beasts are green iguanas, and go by the easy-to-remember scientific name Iguana iguana.

Green iguana in Guayaquil city park, August 2011. Photo: Colin Miskelly, Te Papa

By Colin Miskelly | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds, Field trips, Reptiles | Also tagged Isla de la Plata, waved albatross | Comments (0)

Te Papa's Blog

Tag Archives: albatross

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