Above Picture:  Portrait of a Light-mantled Albatross

NOTE:  This post is the fifth in an occasional series that aims to feature photographs of those breeding seabirds of Marion Island which are being attacked by mice, along with information about their photographers.  The aim is to introduce the photographers (and the birds) to readers in such a way as to explain the passion that they, and all the members of the MFM Team, feel for the island and its birds.  Here, John Dickens writes about the globally and regionally Near Threatened Light-mantled Albatrosses Phoebetria palpebrata he photographed while spending a year on South Africa’s sub-Antarctic possession in the southern Indian Ocean.

John Dickens on the cliff top at Ship’s Cove on Marion Island, with Prince Edward Island on the horizon; photograph by Alfred-Hugo Grünschloss

There are few sounds more evocative and reminiscent of the sub-Antarctic than the call of the Light-mantled Albatross.  If I close my eyes and listen to a recording of their calls, I am immediately transported back to Marion Island.  I’m standing on the cliffs in the late afternoon having spent the day fighting with the wind, happily exhausted after successfully checking the flipper-tagged Southern Elephant Seals on the beaches along the coast. One of my feet is cold and wet thanks to the unexpectedly deep mire that I stepped in earlier in the day, and my clothes and beard reek of penguin as I needed to check the tags of an adventurous elephant seal who had decided to wallow in the muck at the back of the King Penguin colony. Thankfully the hut is just around the corner. I’m really looking forward to taking off this ridiculously heavy backpack, changing out of my smelly clothes and settling down on the fern-covered slopes with a cup of tea.

A Light-mantled Albatross chick

I hear the call first before noticing the Light-mantled Albatross flying along next to me; the hut will have to wait.  It is clearly a Light-mantled and not a closely related Sooty Albatross P. fusca due to the lighter grey back and, if I look hard, I can also see that the sulcus stripe on the beak is blue rather than yellow, subtle differences.  It takes a few minutes of scouring the cliffs before I spot its partner, standing proudly and well camouflaged on one of the grassy outcrops.  Every time the bird flies by its partner throws its head back, issuing a loud haunting wail.  After half a dozen passes it is clear that the partner is not interested in trying to land, so the bird on the cliff launches itself into the air and the two begin a beautiful aerial dance. They fly in synchrony, one above the other, gliding so close that they are almost touching. Their wingtips brush as they bank and circle back around. Those large wings catch the wind perfectly, making their dance appear effortless, one of the most graceful ballets in nature. They carry on with their performance for a while before separating. One of the birds comes in for a landing and the magic is suddenly broken as it crash lands in the ferns and grass on its outcrop. Clearly their wings, like those of all albatrosses, are designed for soaring and not for performing well-executed landings. Looking slightly embarrassed, the grounded bird ruffles its feathers before comically bouncing along, back to its raised nest cup where it begins calling to its partner once again.

Grace in unison: two Light-mantled Albatrosses fly along a Marion coastal cliff

I was lucky enough to overwinter on Marion Island as a member of the 72nd Overwintering Team in 2015/16. My time was mostly taken up by the seals and Killer Whales, but I’d spend time with the albatrosses, penguins, and other seabirds whenever I had the chance. Since then, I have spent a few years on South Georgia, where I’ve had the chance to become far better acquainted with sub-Antarctic’s feathered inhabitants. South Georgia has only officially been rodent-free since 2018, following a successful rodent eradication project which was undertaken between 2011 and 2015.  Over the subsequent years, the recovery of burrowing and ground-nesting bird populations has been obvious with sightings of some rarely seen species now becoming common place.

At Marion Island some Light mantled Albatrosses breed on inland cliffs

It is fantastic to see that the Mouse-Free Marion Project will have the experience and expertise of a number of people who have been involved in previous eradication projects, including at South Georgia.

The blue sulcus distinguishes the Light-mantled from the congeneric Sooty Albatross with its yellow sulcus

Selected Publication:

Dickens, J., Hollyman, P.R., Hart, T., Clucas, G.V., Murphy, E.J., Poncet, S., Trathan, P.N. & Collins, M.A. 2021.  Developing UAV monitoring of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands’ iconic land-based marine predators.  Frontiers in Marine Science doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.654215.

 

John Dickens, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 21 December 2021