Royal Albatross
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
The Royalcam nest.NZ Daylight saving time ends on the 6th of April, the clocks will go back 1 hour at 3am on Sunday.Since hatching at 286g on the 28th of January, the
Royalcam chick at Signal Station Trig has grown to 4.4 kg on day 63 (Tuesday 1st of April). This is a 0.3 kg decrease on last week’s weight. Today’s weight is 150g below average for a female but still well within a healthy weight range. There were quite a few chicks’ weights drop this week which is likely due to recent calm weather.
There have been 3 feeds from both parents since the last weigh in. The gaps between feeds are getting longer which is normal.
Feathers are starting to come in underneath the down. They are part of the secondary down structure which will fall off once the feathers are big enough. The black feathers on the wings will be visible first. On cold days well-fed chicks will be warm with the food that is supplied by their parents and the growing feathers add a further layer of protection.

