Albatross (Northern Royal) - New Zealand / OPT Dunedin

[Alison]

January 2018

The birds visible on the webcam this year are known as KGY and YWK. KGY is the female, identified by the colours of the band on her left leg: black, green, yellow (reading from the top of the band down), and the male is YWK, which stands for yellow, white, black on his coloured leg band.

Their egg was laid on November 7, 2017, and the chick hatched on 22 January 2018. Mom was on the nest when the chick hatched, but now Dad has returned from the sea and is the one caring for the chick.

The beautiful little chick:



Dad on the nest:



http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/

[Alison]

The webcam, new this year, focuses on a Northern Royal Albatross chick at Taiaroa Head, in the Dunedin area. When the chick hatched on January 21, the city of Dunedin flew a "Happy Birthday" flag to celebrate the new arrival.

The pure white chick this evening, trying to stay cool:

 

http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/

[Kinderchick]

Posting from the website...

Northern Royal Albatross Web Camera

This is a joint initiative between the Otago Peninsula Trust (OPT), which manages the Royal Albatross Centre, and The Department of Conservation (DOC).
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, our webcam is not functioning properly.
We hope to get this operating in the near future.

February 2011

30 albatross eggs were laid in total this breeding season and so far we have had 23 successful chicks hatch with one more likely. If all these chicks make it to fledging time in September it will make it the second highest number the colony has ever seen. Visitors who take a tour can view a part of the nesting area and can expect to see 4-5 nest sites out front of the observatory.

As well as doting parents, adolescents are visiting the colony for courtship and some will choose lifelong partners in the coming months. We have seen over 95 different birds flying in and around the headland this season. As well as the albatross, many other species are also in the middle of their breeding season at Taiaroa Head….including: fur seals, spoonbills, red-billed gulls, spotted shags, Stewart Island shags and blue penguins.

One of the issues albatross face living on the mainland is the constant threat of predators such as cats, stoats and ferrets. However, the trapping programme run by the Department of Conservation helps to minimise the threat (traps are wooden boxes which you may see from time-to-time on the web cam).

Will be great to see when the webcam is up and running again!

[Alison]

The albatross chicks are big now, but still fluffy;

[Alison]

The chicks are getting bigger, and are spending more time alone:

[Alison]

There is a Royal Albatross colony at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand, which I have watched for a couple of years.

These birds lay only one egg, giving them the potential for only one chick per year. They are extremely endangered.

From the site:

The first egg was laid on 31 October 2009 and we had 17 albatross eggs in total. A major milestone was achieved in January 2010 as 100% of the fertile eggs produced successfully hatched - a first in 16 years. Another fact that is generating a lot of media interest this year is that there are two 'mums' who have formed a pair bond and are raising a chick.

During the next few months, the chicks will have to cope with heat, humidity, the risk of fly strike and predators. For the next six weeks, their parents will take turns guarding and feeding their chicks. They will then be left unattended while both parents forage at sea for enough food to feed them.

One of the parents with a very cute chick:







http://www.albatross.org.nz/webcam/webcam.html