Otago Peninsula: Royal Albatross

The Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head, on the tip of the Peninsula, is the only mainland breeding colony of albatross in the world.

To sight a soaring Albatross is unforgettable - a spectacle touched with a dignity and majesty no other bird can excel. Held aloft on slim wings up to 3 metres (9'6") across, the great Albatross is capable of swooping speeds of at least 115kph+. It's pure ecstacy in the air, yet distinctly clumsy on the ground. You'll find the social and family life of the breeding colony fascinating. Chicks are fussed over by devoted parents, adolescents party, just like adolescents everywhere, courtships proceed with lots of kissing and cuddling, and "marriage" is usually for life despite long separations at sea. And the life of an Albatross is indeed long - one bird at Taiaroa, fondly known as "Grandma," raised her last chick at age 62!

Albatrosses on remote storm-bound islands have little to fear, but when these large, conspicuous birds nest near a city it presents a very different situation. Between 1914 and 1919 Royal Albatrosses were known to land at Taiaroa Head, and in 1920 the first egg was found there. In 1937, Dr L.E. Richdale, an ornithologist of Dunedin, strove to protect the colony from interference. Their 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.

The breeding birds arrive at Taiaroa Head in September. The nest, built during early November, is formed by a bird sitting down and pulling vegetation and earth around itself with its bill. The white egg, weighing up to 500 grams, is laid during the first three weeks of November. The parents share incubation duty in spells of two to eight days over a period of 11 weeks - one of the longest incubation periods of any bird. The incubating bird sleeps much of the time its mate is away.

When the chick has hatched, 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. 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 chicks hatch during late January and early February; it takes about three to six days to finally emerge from the egg after making a hole in the shell.

For the first 20 days the chick is fed on demand, then meals decrease to three or four times a week. At 100 days the chick's down reaches a maximum length of 12 centimetres. At this age the chick is fed larger meals, up to two kilograms at a time, of more solid substance. 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. 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.