Taiaroa Head: Home of the Albatross
Taiaroa Head on the tip of the Otago Peninsula on the South Island is the only mainland breeding colony for any albatross species found in the southern hemisphere.
With a population of around 140 birds the colony celebrated the hatching of its 500th chick in early 2008. The chick was named Toroa, Maori for albatross.
Albatrosses are the world's largest seabirds. They normally breed on remote islands and spend at least 85 per cent of their lives at sea. The Royal Albatross has a wingspan of up to 3.3 metres and flies an estimated 190,000 kilometres a year.
In 1920 the first egg was found at Taiaroa Head and in 1937, Dr Lance Richdale, an ornithologist of Dunedin, strove to protect the colony from interference. His efforts were rewarded in 1938 when the first Taiaroa-reared chick flew. In 1951 a full-time field officer was appointed to act as caretaker of the albatross colony and as wildlife ranger of Otago Peninsula.
It has been difficult to protect the birds from introduced predators (cats, dogs, ferrets and stoats) and fire is an ever-present danger. These problems have been largely overcome by erecting and maintaining fences and by the vigilance of the local field staff.
The breeding birds arrive at Taiaroa Head in September. The white egg, weighing up to 500 grams, is laid during the first three weeks of November. The parents then share the incubation duty over a period of 11 weeks - one of the longest incubation periods of any bird.
The chicks hatch during late January and early February. The parents take turns at guarding it for the first 30 to 40 days, and the feeding of the chick is also shared by both parents. For the first 20 days the chick is fed on demand. At 100 days the chick's down reaches a maximum length of 12 centimetres. From early August the chick is fed lighter meals and in September, when fully fledged, it wanders from the nest testing its outstretched wings and eventually takes off with the aid of a strong wind.
Nearly 12 months after their arrival at Taiaroa Head, having cared for egg and chick over a period of some 300 days, the parents will leave the colony to spend a year at sea before returning to breed again. The young albatross will spend the next three to six years at sea; many then return to this unique headland to start another generation of Royals of Taiaroa Head.
In 2007 three Royal Albatross chicks from the Taiaroa Head Colony had satellite transmitters attached to their back feathers so their movements at sea can be followed. The birds’ GPS locations were taken every six hours giving the birds’ positions to within 15m and were sent in via the satellite every 6th day for mapping and analysis.
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