The new season has begun!

The first egg was laid on 31 October and we now have 21 albatross eggs in total this season. That means at least 42 doting parents flying in and out of Taiaroa Head regularly. All up however, 67 different birds have been seen so far.

Parent albatross are at the beginning of a very long incubation process - 79-80 days on average!! A parent needs to remain on the nest at all times, so albatross take turns incubating the egg. One bird will sit constantly on the nest, while the other is out at sea feeding. The bird at sea can be gone for several days before returning to the headland and changing over shifts with their partner.

Countdown

The countdown has begun, only 5 days until the observatory opens for tours. Book yours now at www.albatross.org.nz

Welcome Home

New season birds are arrving, so far 49 birds have been seen. They will now be waiting for their mates to return and busy constructing nests for the season. Non-breeding birds will be busy struting their stuff and socialising in the hope to find a mate.

Banding

All the chicks have now been banded with their 'Chick Bands'.

A Chick Band is a blue plastic band, with an identification number, that is fitted to the chicks leg. This helps us to identify them when they return to breed after their mammoth 5-6 year voyage out at sea. Once they return this band is removed and they are fitted with a unique three colour band combination - this allows easy identification without the need to handle the birds.

Not long now and we will get our first fledging for the season - SO WATCH THIS SPACE!!

Lets go to the Gym :)

The chicks are well into flight training at the moment - a great time to come and see these little (or rather large) guys working out. It's muscle building time!

Flight Training for the chicks consists of them basically flapping their wings in the wind - they don't actually fly as part of their flight training. So when they take off on their inaugural flight they will head straight out the sea for 5 years, never touching land until they return to find a mate. It's an amazing (and rather nervous) time as we wait for our first chick to fledge....

Did someone say Salmon?

Salmon is on the menu for one lucky chick!!
One of our foster chicks is now being supplementary fed as its foster mother (who laid an infertile egg this season) has not been seen for a number of weeks.
Thanks to New Zealand King Salmon who kindly donated us the fish!!

Itchy and Scratchy

The moulting stage for our chicks has begun!!
They are all looking rather cute and scruffy as their soft downy feathers fall out giving way to their fantastic adult wing feathers.
Now is a great time to see this special stage in the birds breeding cycle!! Our chicks are often seen stretching and flapping their wings in an attempt to rid themselves of any loose feathers and no doubt that irritable itchy feeling :)

Pesky Neighbours

Conservation work at its best!!
So far this season 69 rats and 3 cats have been caught!!
The chicks are reaching 3 months of age at the moment so are slowly getting to the size that the risk of predation reduces, however you can never be too safe...

Sad News :(

Our last chick finally hatched on the 17th February, which was followed by several wet and rainy days. Unfortunately as a result the chick became very weak and died only 3-4 days after hatching.

On the upside our remaining 19 chicks are putting on weight very nicely and are preparing for their parents to leave them on the nest by themselves. The adults will then commence to return every 1-2 days to feed the chicks.

"Congratulations, it's a ......"

Our chicks are just about all hatched. The first chick hatched on the 19th January so will be reaching 4 weeks of age and getting close to 3kg in weight!!
We have 20 successful nests currently, with 19 chicks hatched so only one to go!