Albatross of macquarie island
The main types of albatross that are found on Macquarie island include:
The Wandering Albatross: This elegant snow coloured bird has a white body, neck, head, a wedged tail and pink beak. They eat fish, cephalopods, jellyfish and the occasional crustaceans, penguins and seal carrion. Wandering albatross breed once every two years and the job of hatching and rearing the chick is shared by both parents. Their feeding trips can last up to 50 days but are usually alot shorter during the breeding period. The Wandering albatross is curently a vulnerable species with populations delining due to birds getting caught in long line fishing operations.
Sooty Albatross: light-mantled sooty albatross have a dark grey head and light grey body with a wingspan of 2.2metres meaning they are of the smaller species of albatross. They are most commonly found on Macquarie Island with 1000 breeding pairs present every year. They feed mainly on cephalopods, fish and carrion. These creatures breed in solitude but can sometimes be seen breeding in groups of up to 15 nests. Their nests are made mostly out of mud with a small amount of plant material and lined with grass that has a height of around 15-30cm. Breeding takes place every two years and hatching and rearing of the egg only takes around 5 months. The sooty albatross is a near threatened species that like the wandering albatross, it's population is decreasing due to long line fishing operations.
Black Browed Albatross: The black browed albatross is mostly white with yellowish-orange webbed feet, bright yellow beak and the black eyebrow that gives them their name. They are of the smallest of the albatross species with a length of around 80-95cm, a wingspan of 2.1-2.5 meters and weight of about 3-5kgs. They are found over Antarctica and sub-antarctic waters where they breed on sub-antarctic islands sich as Macquarie Island, Heard Islands, McDonald islands and Falkland Islands. Back Browed albatross live for about 30 years and have a strong bond with their colony. Every year they breed with the same partner on steep rock cliffs or slopes where they build their nests of mud, tussock grass and seaweed, they reuse this nest every year. One egg is laid every year in early October with the role of feeding the chick done by both parents. Black browed albatross feed mainly on fish, krill, cepholopods, slaps and jellyfish which they scoop up from the near surface of the ocean. They are an endangered species with their numbers decreasing due to, like most other albatross, interactions with longline fishing operations.
Grey Headed albatross: These birds have a white body, blueish-grey neck and head and a dark grey back and tail along with having a wingspan of around 2.2 meters. Grey headed albatross feed primarily on fish and squid but can eat crustaceans if they need to. They are found more commonly in the South American sector of the Southern Ocean but can also be found on Campbell islands and Macquarie Island. The Grey headed albatross is a vulnerable species thats numbers are declining due to longline fishing operations and squid fisheries. Macquarie Island hosts only around 100 breeding pairs of grey headed albatross every year and with albatross only laying one egg, Macquarie Islands percentage of reproduction is not very high. Grey-headed albatross usually breed every two years but occansionally they will breed annually. Their nest are made out of mud and lined with grass. An egg is laid in mid-Octoberand the male of the pair incubates the egg for the first 70 days and then the female finishes the incubation and the egg hatches in mid-December.
The Wandering Albatross: This elegant snow coloured bird has a white body, neck, head, a wedged tail and pink beak. They eat fish, cephalopods, jellyfish and the occasional crustaceans, penguins and seal carrion. Wandering albatross breed once every two years and the job of hatching and rearing the chick is shared by both parents. Their feeding trips can last up to 50 days but are usually alot shorter during the breeding period. The Wandering albatross is curently a vulnerable species with populations delining due to birds getting caught in long line fishing operations.
Sooty Albatross: light-mantled sooty albatross have a dark grey head and light grey body with a wingspan of 2.2metres meaning they are of the smaller species of albatross. They are most commonly found on Macquarie Island with 1000 breeding pairs present every year. They feed mainly on cephalopods, fish and carrion. These creatures breed in solitude but can sometimes be seen breeding in groups of up to 15 nests. Their nests are made mostly out of mud with a small amount of plant material and lined with grass that has a height of around 15-30cm. Breeding takes place every two years and hatching and rearing of the egg only takes around 5 months. The sooty albatross is a near threatened species that like the wandering albatross, it's population is decreasing due to long line fishing operations.
Black Browed Albatross: The black browed albatross is mostly white with yellowish-orange webbed feet, bright yellow beak and the black eyebrow that gives them their name. They are of the smallest of the albatross species with a length of around 80-95cm, a wingspan of 2.1-2.5 meters and weight of about 3-5kgs. They are found over Antarctica and sub-antarctic waters where they breed on sub-antarctic islands sich as Macquarie Island, Heard Islands, McDonald islands and Falkland Islands. Back Browed albatross live for about 30 years and have a strong bond with their colony. Every year they breed with the same partner on steep rock cliffs or slopes where they build their nests of mud, tussock grass and seaweed, they reuse this nest every year. One egg is laid every year in early October with the role of feeding the chick done by both parents. Black browed albatross feed mainly on fish, krill, cepholopods, slaps and jellyfish which they scoop up from the near surface of the ocean. They are an endangered species with their numbers decreasing due to, like most other albatross, interactions with longline fishing operations.
Grey Headed albatross: These birds have a white body, blueish-grey neck and head and a dark grey back and tail along with having a wingspan of around 2.2 meters. Grey headed albatross feed primarily on fish and squid but can eat crustaceans if they need to. They are found more commonly in the South American sector of the Southern Ocean but can also be found on Campbell islands and Macquarie Island. The Grey headed albatross is a vulnerable species thats numbers are declining due to longline fishing operations and squid fisheries. Macquarie Island hosts only around 100 breeding pairs of grey headed albatross every year and with albatross only laying one egg, Macquarie Islands percentage of reproduction is not very high. Grey-headed albatross usually breed every two years but occansionally they will breed annually. Their nest are made out of mud and lined with grass. An egg is laid in mid-Octoberand the male of the pair incubates the egg for the first 70 days and then the female finishes the incubation and the egg hatches in mid-December.