caretaker

Waiting for little Eggbert to fledge. Is there a naming contest for this one?

spouse of scouse

Lovely footage

BEVS must be having a break from BE, I can't contact her through the PM system. I hope she comes back after a much deserved rest, she's very much missed.

A naming contest would be great, hopefully BEVS will be back to do that before the 'little' one spreads its wings.

DaveLovesDee

I suggest the name 'Albert Ross'

caretaker

These are fascinating birds; wings 10' across and they can fly 70 mph. The effort expended to help them survive is incredible as well, but according to the Royal Albatross Centre, they bring in $100 million in tourism dollars.
https://albatross.org.nz/8114-2/

robin1234

I became aware of a place I never knew existed a few weeks ago. Gough Island in the South Atlantic. It’s a remote island just a few hundred miles from Tristan da Cunha (which, I guess, is itself fairly remote.)

RSPB are involved in an initiative to eradicate the (invasive) house mouse, which unfortunately eats birds eggs and actually nibbles at, and kills, nesting birds & chicks including albatrosses. Apparently Gough Island has a wonderful avian fauna, including a couple of species found nowhere else.

Gough Island sounds like a wonderful place to spend a year - which you can do, if you work for the South African Meteorological Service! Anyway, for the next year or two, there’ll be more folks than usual there, since the ornithologists will be in residence, catching mice.

https://www.goughisland.com/

BEVS

Otherwise know as Pip Paddles or Paddles Pip , hatched to the York family YRK and OGK on flat track.
Not know yet if male or female.
If there is a naming comp it will happen late Spring I should thing with official naming ( very important) July/Aug.

Much of the tourism dollars goes towards the peninsula trust . That cares for not just protecting the peninsula and albatross but also other wildlife and heritage out on the headland itself. That includes efforts for the endangered yellow eyed penguins and sea lions.
DoC is very underfunded so there is a need for visitor $ as donations simply would not bring in enough to do the work. It also helps stop people just walking on out over the headland and interfering with the albatross and eggs as has happened in decades past.
The colony itself really needs a de-salination plant as all fresh water , which helps cools the birds in these years of rising temps, has to be trucked in. Warm weather means flies which means ughs for the chicks.

It is the only mainland albatross colony in the world. The only one. I've walked there among those birds.

Oh and they smell of....albatross.

spouse of scouse

Thanks BEVS, I found that really interesting and I can see that the wildlife and heritage of the headland/peninsula is very precious. It would be a terrible thing to lose.

And....

BuckinghamshireBoy

+1.

Maybe we should stick to naming the rabbit.

DaveLovesDee

George?

spouse of scouse

Having given up my former weakness of falling headlong into rabbit holes, I'm not acquainted with any of the beasts these days. But Wascally is always a good name for a wabbit.

DaveLovesDee

Diced has always been my favourite rabbit....

spouse of scouse

I can't eat it, I think it's because I dismembered too many of them to make rabbit stew for the ex.

DaveLovesDee

You should have dismembered the ex instead.....

caretaker

I'm used to seeing the usual mom sitting on the nest and occasional look at the chick, or at night nothing but wind and vigilant mom, so it was interesting to see so much interaction and grooming (which I take for affection) and the vocalisation that's absent on the day to day cam.

spouse of scouse

What a privilege to be able to see that, thanks for posting! I love how one of them (mum?) enjoys being groomed, reminds me of any busy parent having a moment of 'me' blissful time