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[Lani]

Royal Albatross ~ TF Prepares For Fledging with Hovers, Jumps & Running Flapping Down Track 9.21.24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TJDEHkdgfM

Sep 21, 2024  #TAIAROA #royalcam #albatross
TF's fledging is imminent now as he feels the calling to the wind and sea! TF practices his wing flapping taking it running down the track several times. He will also do a jump hover as he passes his nest - with the EXACT same route that TFT took the other day before his fledge! TF spent the night just below the hill last night. Will TF fledge today? Stay tuned! Thank you for watching!

Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk

Posted 11 hours ago, You can see the top of TF's head poking out of the tall grass in the middle of the pic - he's staring out at the big world and dreaming of adventures!

[Lani]

TF Fledges!  :'(


Royal Albatross ~ TOP FLAT CHICK TF FLEDGES! Congratulations & Safe Travels! 🎉 💕 🎉 9.23.24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAihrvuhJ8U

Sep 22, 2024  #TAIAROA #royalcam #albatross
Today was the big day for TF! He was seen off to the right down the track in the early morning flapping his wings in the breeze. Our cam op was able to zoom in on him in his favorite spot just below the hill. TF continued to flap his wings and headed down slope just out of view - all except for a few glimpses of his wings flapping that let us know he was still there.

Then TF was out of view and the cam op panned around and back to the area that TF was last seen in and within seconds we see a chick fledge. I do believe this was TF ♥ He was only seen for a couple of seconds and he then went down and out of view.  Timestamp 05:44 real time & 06:05 slomo. I included this is in regular time and with zoom and slomo to see it better.  Ranger Sharyn confirmed TF did fledge this morning, so this may have been the last view of him from the cam.

This occurred at 07:24:58 on Monday Sept 23rd 2024.

Congratulations to TF on fledging & safe travels! Mum LGL came in at noon so she just missed seeing her chick for the last time. A bittersweet moment for LGL who is staying for hours at the nest waiting for TF to return ♥ 

I am so proud of LGK & LGL for successfully raising their chick to fledge!  TF is 244 days old today! Bon Voyage TF - may you always be safe and have a fully tummy of squid! I hope you find TFT out there and share your fledging tales! I am going to miss TF very much Godspeed sweetheart!

And a big shout out to the Cornell team and to the entire DOC staff & rangers for all the work they have done this season! We were blessed to have been able to watch these amazing albatross and share in a small part of their lives! Thank you for watching!

Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk

Mom LGL has been waiting and looking for TF on their nest for more than 4 hours. She's not left the area. Searching for her boy. 

[Lani]

Congratulation to all at Taiaroa - feathered and otherwise. What a fabulous job you do and we are privileged to be able to share it . One last screen shot of beautiful LGL before the bells ring out for the start of another season.   



Join in for the annual bell ringing tradition to welcome back the toroa for the new season at 1pm Tuesday 24th of September.

Ringing of the Bells | Return of the Wandering Toroa | DunedinNZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uanfnBN6OPI&t=26s
We’re not sure why or when it started, but for the last few decades, when the northern royal albatross return to Pukekura/Taiaroa Head after a year at sea, it’s been a Dunedin NZ tradition to ring in the return of the wandering toroa for the breeding season. Find out more about the wildlife capital of NZ: http://www.dunedinnz.com/wildlife

[Lani]

Royal Albatross

Ranger Sharyn Broni has already explained, albatrosses have an extremely good sense of smell. They can detect their food within a radius of 50 km.
I think the parents know that their offspring have fledged. They can no longer smell them. But they can smell the places where they were before.
Perhaps it has something to do with the "genetic program" that is now causing them to fly away and allowing hormone production to return to normal.
I wish all the departing albatrosses the best. Because the first returnees of the Toroa season have already been spotted.

Mom LGL waited more than 9 hours in TF chick's last nesting area. She did not leave until after sunset. :'( 


Farewell TF chick - A special moment from a special season….  between Mom LGL letting Ranger Shari handle TF  

Mom BOK skycalling for TFT chick - she waits for him at their nest for 5 hours or more and leaves after dark.

[Lani]

Last pic of Top Flat chick taken 22 September 2024. Image credit, DOC.
[/img]

Top Flat Track chick fledged at 233 days of age.


https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/track-the-chicks-weight/


Top Flat Track chick at Observation Post, 5 days prior to fledging.

No longer chicks, the toroa that have fledged are now juveniles and will become adolescents once they return to Pukekura in about 5 years’ time. Around a third of them have fledged now. One has been rescued by DOC, Royal Albatross Centre and Port to Port staff and later fledged successfully.

Tracking tags via crowd funding

The generous crowd funding on the Royal Albatross Centre give-a-little page has provided funds for the expensive GPS tags to be attached to 7 of the remaining chicks.

A big THANKYOU to all who donated!

Unlike the smaller, longer life, GLS tags, the data will be sent back via satellite so we can view where the fledged juveniles in near to real time. It is not pinpoint accuracy but will give everyone a general idea of where these individuals are in the vastness of the ocean.

The work was due to be carried out today but has been deferred till tomorrow due to extremely high winds making it unsafe to carry the work out today.

Photos and details of the chicks tagged will be available for next week’s update.

How the tags work, from the Marine Bycatch and Threats team

Solar GPS/PTT combo! I.e. Solar Global Positioning System/Platform Terminal Transmitter

- These tags log locations internally like a GPS and save this to memory but, when they get an ARGOS* satellite fix, they send location like a PTT while also transferring the GPS info that they have been logging to the satellite as well.


- We can then retrieve the PTT and GPS data via an app on our phones / or by logging into the ARGOS website.

- What this means is that we get a high fix rate (which depending on battery power can be up to 1 location every 30 mins) from birds and can retrieve this data while they roam the high seas. It’s a win-win.

https://www.argos-system.org/

Because the tags are solar what limits their life span is either

1) The programming is wrong, and they run out of battery fully. Erroneous programming is an uncommon problem.
2) The tags drop off either because birds have been bycaught or are deceased.
3) Tags are moulted off once they reach South America – this is the most common “end of tag life” outcome and occurs around 12-18 months post deployment.

We will share the tracks of these 7 individuals once they become available.

[Lani]

Royal Albatross
Kiwa (TF) has been gliding over the Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa | Pacific Ocean for 4 days now so it is appropriate that he has been given this name.
Although Kiwa did not stick around to receive a GPS tag 7 of his cohorts have, one of which has also fledged since tag day.




The Marine Team are looking into public viewing of the tag locations. Unlike Tiaki’s season this will not be on the Albatross Tracker app. We will let you know where this information can be viewed in due course.

In the meantime, the fledged chick has already sent a location...

[Lani]

Royal Albatross update
"Kia ora koutou" from Ranger Shari Broni!

Just a quick note to say that there are still 2 or 3 chicks left to fledge (this could change at any time given the current wind conditions).

Typically, all chicks will have fledged by the 15th of October and unless parents are missing, they will still come in to feed their chicks.

Although the Royal Albatross Centre is closed due to slips on Harington Point Road rangers have been allowed access to continue the toroa work.

The large amount of rain was not of concern to the toroa as all are fully waterproof and ready for their life on the ocean.

[Lani]

Royal Albatross update - Lots of sky calling!! It's wonderful to have the adult Albies return home to renew relationships and rebuild nests for a new season.

[Lani]

Royal Albatross update from Ranger Sharyn Broni

Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)

Now that we are into November egg laying has begun. There is typically 3 to 4 weeks of egg laying with most laid during the middle part of November.

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/what-to-expect/#Nov-Dec

Nests are new and fresh and a lot of nest building and nest maintenance by the pair occurs at this stage. As pairs become busy with the task of incubation and foraging in turns, there will be less activity around the headland for a short time until non-breeder numbers build up. Non-breeders, including those who are returning to Pukekura for the first time in several years after fledging, will continue to arrive through to the end of the summer.

It is a busy time for rangers as well. The incubator room is running again, we prepare for the candling of each egg when they are 10 days old and irrigation for individual nests will be put in place once egg laying has finished.

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/rangers-work-for-royal-albatross/

A new location for the Royalcam will be selected once egg laying is completed.

In the meantime, the juveniles are heading across the Pacific Ocean. Although they do not travel together, the parents of the fledged juveniles have also headed across the ocean. The breeders at Pukekura now are new breeders, those that failed early in 2024 and those that fledged chicks during 2023.

Today's GPS tag update of juvenile toroa from Pukekura tagged 25th of September and 5th of October 2024.
The five males and five females fledged from 240 to 264 days.
The distance across Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa | Pacific Ocean, is over 9000 km. The last two juveniles are yet to leave New Zealand waters.

[Lani]

Kia ora koutou (hello everyone) from Ranger Sharyn Broni

Royalcam Season 10

Season 10 of Royalcam will be a big milestone for us. We are keeping likely pairs under wrap and will share the activities of past Royalcam pairs once the cam is at its new location. This will happen once egg laying has finished to ensure no nesting toroa are disturbed at this very sensitive time. We also want to include all options in our final decision of the new location.

Egg laying continues throughout November and both parents take turns to incubate the egg while the other forages off the coast of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

A toroa parent prepares to settle on their new egg.


You can see three nests in this pic, two occupied and with egg.