Ian’s Stamp of the Week – Antipodean Albatross

September 13, 2014 by Lee

Ian’s Stamp of the Week – Antipodean Albatrosses ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 9/13/14

The reference to Stamp of the Week in the subject line isn’t a typo: I’m celebrating the issue of a stamp set by New Zealand Post on 3 September which includes a photo of mine in the design of one of the stamps.

Here is the original photo, taken north of Macquarie Island when we were returning to Hobart at the end of a Subantarctic Islands trip in November 2011 that started in Dunedin. This was the same trip on which I photographed the Fiordland Penguins that featured as last week’s bird.

If you’re not familiar with Antipodean Albatrosses and think it looks like a Wandering Albatross, you may be relieved to hear that it’s all a matter of taxonomy and reflects the recent split of the Wandering Albatross into four species, one of which is the Antipodean. In fact this same taxon, for want of a better word, was bird of the week in November 2006 as Wandering Albatross after I’d photographed some on a pelagic trip off Wollongong south of Sydney. If we follow this split, and BirdLife Australia does, then most of the erstwhile Wandering Albatrosses in Australian waters are Antipodean and breed on the islands south of New Zealand, mainly Antipodes Island, Campbell Island and Adams Island in the Auckland Islands.

The Antipodean is one of the smaller of the Wandering Albatross group but they are still enormous: up to 117cm/46in in length with a wing span to 3.3m/11ft and weighing up to 8.6kg/19lbs. Look carefully at the second Albatross photo and you’ll see a grey and black Broad-billed Prion completely dwarfed by the Antipodean Albatross. The prion is about 30cm/12in in length with a wingspan of 60cm/2ft. You can get an impression of the size in the third photo taken on that Wollongong trip – look at the bow wave!

The Antipodean Albatross itself comes in two varieties, the nominate Antipodean which breeds on Antipodes and Campbell Island and ‘Gibson’s Albatross’ which breeds in the Auckland Islands Group. The various Wandering Albatross species all look rather similar and are difficult to identify in the field. They vary in size and they differ in the rate and extent of development of white plumage in adult birds – juveniles are mainly brown. The ones in the first two photos are very white and are probably older males of the race gibsoni. The bird swimming in the third photo shows less development of white plumage – not the darkish cap and the dark vermiculations on the neck, breast and shoulder and may be a younger male or female and could be either nominate Antipodes or Gibson’s: all too hard.

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) Stamp by Ian

Here is the complete set of stamps. New Zealand Post wanted to pay me to use the albatross photo, but I so like the idea of having one of mine used in a stamp that they agreed to send me first day covers and a presentation pack instead and that arrived yesterday. Antipodean Albatrosses rate as Vulnerable/Endangered because of their few nesting sites and long-line fishing which leads to the death of adult birds as by-catch. The total population is perhaps 16,000 pairs but there is hope that the population has stabilised after significant declines at the end of the 20th century.

Anyway, I’m off to Dublin via Dubai on Monday to visit family and friends. I’m spending 3 nights in Dubai having found it, to my complete astonishment, ranked as #75 in a book on the top 100 places in the world to go birding. Because of its location at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, it’s an important staging post for birds migrating from Asia to Africa in the northern spring and autumn migrations (i.e. now). I have two target species: the Crab Plover and the Cream-coloured Courser. The first because it’s an unusual and beautiful black and white wader in a family all to itself and the unusual looking and named Courser – a member of the Pratincole family – because it caught my eye in my Field Guide to the Birds of Britain in Europe when I was a teenager in Ireland half a century ago, below. So, I need your spiritual energy and goodwill to help me. You haven’t failed me in the past!

This was supposed to be a short bird of the week as I really should be packing but I almost forgot to mention that Where to Find Birds in Northern Queensland is now available through Kobo Books. I really like the Kobo ebook reader: I have it on both my Mac computer and my iPad/iPhone but Kobo reader software is also for Android tablets and phones, Blackberries and Windows computers and phone. A friend of mine has expressed concern over the complexity of ebook software/apps, devices/computers and methods of purchase/download etc. so I’m preparing a page to add to the existing one on publications on the website: http://www.birdway.com.au/publications.htm which already has links to Apple, Google Play and Kobo Books and a little bit about the differences. Something to do on the plane.

Greetings

Ian

**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Bird Photos http://www.birdway.com.au/

Recorder Society http://www.nqrs.org.au

Lee’s Addition:

Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. (Isaiah 52:13 NASB)

Wow! Our Ian is famous. That is quite an honor! I was thinking of Ian as well as the Albatrosses when I picked the verse.

The Albatrosses are a members of the Diomedeidae – Albatrosses Family. There are 21 species in the family. (From CreationWiki) “Albatrosses have very long wings and large bodies. Their bills are hooked and they possess separate raised tubular nostrils. Their bodies range from sizes between 76 and 122 centimeters long (2.5 to 4 feet); and their wingspan ranges from 3 to 6 meters across(9.8 to 19.7 feet). The wings are usually darkly colored on the upper side and are pale colors or white on the underside. Albatross wings allow it to take advantage of the abundant winds across the surface of the sea. The birds make use of the fact that friction with the sea slows some of the wind down so that right above the surface of the water, the wind is relatively weak and slow. Then, as the bird climbs up from the surface, the speed and strength of the wind increases as well (around 50 feet or 15 meters above the surface of the water the albatrosses will reach their full flight speed).

Albatrosses’ wings are designed for a specified type of gliding. Being very long and somewhat thin in width, the wings are used best in the albatrosses’ cycle of flight. This cycle allows the bird to move great distances without once flapping it wings. What a great Creator!

Antipodean Albatross – Ian’s

Ian’s Diomedeidae Family

Albatross – CreationWiki

Diomedeidae – Albatrosses Family

Ian’s Pratincole Family.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Light-mantled Albatross

December 2, 2011 by Ian

Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Light-mantled Albatross ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 12/1/11

We arrived in Hobart today at the end of successful visit to the Sub-antarctic Islands between New Zealand and Australia. We had a lot of very rough weather in the Southern Ocean but the weather was kinder to us at the various destinations and we managed make all the planned landings (Auckland Islands, Campbell and Macquarie Islands) and view the Snares from the zodiacs (where actual landings are not permitted). I managed to photograph most of the species on my target list and the highlight for most of us was Macquarie Island and its four nesting species of penguin.

As the last Bird of the Week was the Yellow-eyed Penguin, I’ve chosen an albatross, the Light-mantled (Sooty) Albatross, for this week and will return to penguins later. This was the Albatross that I most wanted to see and also very popular with everyone else. My interest in it had been aroused when I’d heard it likened to a Siamese cat, a seal point in particular. The comparison is apt given the chocolate brown head and latte-coloured body, and the silky texture of the plumage is quite feline in appearance. The white partial eye-ring is striking and sets off the dark head colour very well.

Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) by Ian 2

We saw Light-mantled Albatrosses quite frequently until we got close to Tasmania, encountering them first and best on Enderby Island, one of the Auckland Islands, as in the first photo but also at sea and at Macquarie Island as in the second photo. Macquarie Island is administratively part of the State of Tasmania even though it is a long way away and, as one of the Kiwis on board pointed out, geographically part of New Zealand. The Albatrosses were nesting on Enderby Island and it was here that we saw pairs indulging in their beautiful courtship flights, quite an aerial ballet, as in the third photo.

Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) by Ian 3

At this point, I though that the comparison with Siamese Cats broke down. I used to have a pair and. when the female was on heat, her behaviour was anything but elegant; demented would have been more like it.

Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) by Ian 4

Some pairs were already nesting and incubating eggs. They chose small platforms on quite rocky cliffs and often nested in close proximity to each other, as in the fourth photo. Light-mantled are quite small by albatross standards, measuring about 84cm/33in in length with a wingspan of 215cm/85in. Their range is circumpolar in the colder waters of the Southern Ocean and are seen only rarely in the waters of mainland Australia and Tasmania proper.

Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) by Ian 5

On close inspection of the head of a Light-mantled, as in the last photo, the eyes are bluish and, as a final touch, the pale stripe on the bill is also blue. Yes, I know, same colour scheme as a Siamese Cat!

During the rougher parts of the voyage I had the opportunity to work on some of the photos and I have added the following species to the website: Snares, Fiordland and Yellow-eyed Penguins:

Snares Penguin

Fiordland Penguin

Yellow-eyed Penguin

and Broad-billed Prion:

Best wishes

Ian

—

Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: 0411 602 737 +61-411 602 737
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. (Proverbs 20:12 KJV)

What an absolutely neat looking bird. I love that eye ring. Makes the eyes very expressive. Looks like they built nests of mud.

It will be interesting to see what other neat birds that Ian has found on this trip. Not so sure I would have enjoyed those rough seas.

The Albatross are found in the Diomedeidae Family of the Procellariiformes Order. That order includes Petrel, Shearwater, Storm Petrel and Diving Petrel families.

Check out:

Ian’s Albatross Photos

Bird of the Week Newsletters

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Campbell/Black-browed Albatross

August 14, 2011 by Ian

Campbell Albatross (Thalassarche impavida) by Ian

Campbell Albatross (Thalassarche (melanophris impavida) by Ian 1

Another belated bird of the week, so this time you get two species, or maybe only one as we’ll see shortly. Welcome, in a nutshell, to the glory of Albatrosses and the nightmare of bird taxonomy, where I’ve been lately trying to help sort out the final bird list for the digital Pizzey and Knight.

Let’s start by comparing the bird in photo #1 with the one in #2, taken within 6 minutes of each another on a pelagic bird-watching trip from Port Fairy in southern Victoria on 22 July 2001. In those days, when life was simple, we called them both Black-browed Albatrosses. I mention the date as only 5 days later a paper was accepted for publication by the Journal of Molecular Biology which supported the splitting of this species into at least two, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) which nests in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Campbell Albatross (Thalassarche impavida), endemic to Campbell Island south of New Zealand.

Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) by Ian 2

Definitely a spot the difference puzzle and by now you have found the two features visible in birds not in flight: the adult Campbell Island Albatross has a more strongly marked brow, which makes it look crosser, and a pale iris, which, I think, makes it look slightly manic like the Blue-winged Kookaburra. The underwing patterns are different too. The Campbell is much darker with only a faint central band of white as in photo #3, taken off Wollongong in New South Wales.

Campbell Albatross (Thalassarche (melanophris impavida) by Ian 3

At even a short distance, the colour of the iris is hard to see, so the underwing pattern is a better field mark for birds in flight, as in the sub-adult Campbell Albatross in photo #4.

Campbell Albatross (Thalassarche (melanophris impavida) by Ian 4

Campbell T. impavida if you follow Birdlife International. The different spellings melanophris and melanophrys aren’t typos. Temminck originally spelt it with an ‘i’ but the taxonomists Jouanin and Mougin, Latin scholars obviously, though Temminck couldn’t spell and it should be a ‘y’ and that has been adopted by Birdlife International. C&B uphold the rule that says the original spelling should stand, and stick to the ‘i’.

Welcome to the nit-picking world of bird taxonomy. Does it matter? It does if you want to know how many birds are on your list and it matters if you are a conservationist. Governments are much more willing to provide funds and resources to protect threatened species that they are for sub-species and many of the Albatross types, or taxons, are threatened by long-line fishing. Linnaeus set out in the 18th Century to impose order on a chaotic scientific world with his binomial naming scheme, long before Darwin’s Origin of Species. It’s probably just as well he’s not around to see the result.

Back at the website, I’ve recently finished reformatting the galleries with improved layout, easier navigation and larger photos. I started the process in May 2010 and said then that it would take a long time (over 1,300 galleries) and it’s good to put it behind me. To celebrate, I’m joining the local Birds Australia (BANQ) in Daintree next weekend and then going to Cape York to chase a few species missing from the wanted list for the digital Pizzey and Knight (Trumpet Manucode, Tropical Scrubwren, White-lined and Green-backed Honeyeater). Wish me luck as I’d love to produce the Manucode, one of the 4 species of bird of paradise found in Australia, as a bird of the week. The Daintree weekend includes one or two boat trips on the Daintree River and birding walks, so join us if you can. All are welcome, so check out the details on the BANQ website http://www.birdsaustralianq.org/#Coming .

Best wishes
Ian

—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: 0411 602 737 +61-411 602 737
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Whew! Okay, Ian, I think I followed all of that! As I have been saying, this naming and re-naming, splitting and glumping can get confusing. I still contend that Adam had it a whole lot easier. I have been going through those changes when the IOC World Bird List comes about about every 3 months. Keep up the good work, Ian. No matter what you call them, those are fantastic photos of the Albatrosses.

After checking out Ian’s Albatrosses, the look up the whole family, Diomedeidae-Albatrosses, here.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
(Genesis 1:20 ESV)

Updated the Procellariiformes Order Pages

February 5, 2011 by Lee

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Puffinus_Ardenna carneipes) by Ian

Like birds flying about, So will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it. (Isaiah 31:5 NKJV)

Since writing the “Formed By Him – Sea Birds That Drink Seawater“, I have been busy behind the scene updating the Procellariiformes Order.That was the Order the article was about. Found as many species’ photos as I could and even included some videos to view. There are a total of 40 Orders altogether, so it is nice to complete another one.

Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta) by Ian

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, procellariids, storm-petrels and diving petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, they are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all Procellariiformes or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses. They are almost exclusively pelagic (feeding in the open ocean). They have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world’s oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand.

Cape Petrel (Daption capense) by Bob-Nan

Procellariiformes are colonial, mostly nesting on remote predator-free islands. The larger species nest on the surface, while most smaller species nest in natural cavities and burrows. They exhibit strong philopatry, returning to their natal colony to breed and returning to the same nesting site over many years. Procellariiformes are monogamous and form long-term pair bonds which are formed over several years and may last for the life of the pair. Only a single egg is laid per nesting attempt, and usually only a single nesting attempt is made per year, although the larger albatrosses may only nest once every two years. Both parents participate in incubation and chick rearing. Incubation times are long compared to other birds, as are fledgling periods. Once a chick has fledged there is no further parental care.

If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. (Deuteronomy 22:6-7 NKJV)

Tahitian Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) by Ian

Procellariiformes have had a long relationship with humans. They have been important food sources for many people, and continue to be hunted as such in some parts of the world. They have also been the subject of numerous cultural depictions, particularly albatrosses. Procellariiformes are one of the most endangered bird taxa, with many species threatened with extinction due to introduced predators in their breeding colonies, marine pollution and the danger of fisheries by-catch. (from Wikipedia)

The Procellariiformes Order includes these Families:
Albatrosses – Diomedeidae – 21 species
Petrels, Shearwaters – Procellariidae – 90 species
Storm Petrels – Hydroatidae – 23 species

Yellow-nosed Albatross (Diomedea chlororhynchos) on the water, then flying off – by Nick Talbot.

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Tag Archives: Diomedeidae

Ian’s Stamp of the Week – Antipodean Albatross