The Northern Royal Albatross chicks are now old enough to receive their first leg bands during a scheduled weight check with rangers from the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC).
Darvic bands with unique alphanumeric codes were placed on the left legs of the chicks on July 9. The Top Flat chick (right) was banded as E24, and the Top Flat Track chick (left) was banded as E25. These leg bands are an important conservation tool that helps rangers identify and track individual chicks. Stainless-steel bands will also be placed on the chicks early August.
Note that the Top Flat chick has moved away from his natal nest and is spending much time on the right side of the cam view. This is not so far away that his parents cannot find him when they come into feed. Chicks often move away from the nest at this stage.
Weighing update from DOC:
Top Flat chick is 168 days old and weighs 8.6 kg. There was no weighing last week and this is nearly a 1 kg decrease in weight from the 25th of June when he was 9.5 kg. His parents came in frequently during the end of June but there has been a bit of a lull in feedings for Top Flat chick during July. A recheck of his weight will occur next Tuesday. There may be potential for supplementary feeding if there have been no significant gains by then.
Top Flat Track chick is 160 days old and weighs 10 kg. There was no weighing last week, the weight on the 25th of June was 10.4 kg. Even with a 400g drop in weight Top Flat Track chick is still above the average weight for a male of his age. BOK is a larger female than LGL so we would not expect both chicks to be the same size.
RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation and the Cornell Lab has been collaborating with DOC since 2019 to bring the cam to life. To learn more while watching, view the cam at
www.doc.govt.n...
or at
www.allaboutbi...
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Royal Cam is a 24-hour live stream of a Northern Royal Albatross nest during the breeding season at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the southeast tip of New Zealand's South Island.
This season (2023-24) features two nests in view. At the main site to the left of the frame, male LGK (named for his colored leg band combination: Lime/Green/Black) and female LGL (Lime/Green/Lime) return to the Top Flat nest site, where they are caring for a single egg laid on November 7.
Nearby to the right, male WYL (White/Yellow/Lime) and female BOK (Blue/Orange/Black) have been tending to their egg since it was laid on November 14 at the Top Track Flat site. This site is currently obscured by tall grass, which will die down and open up the view as the season progresses.
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to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another action-packed season on New Zealand’s South Island.
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8 июл 2024
