A Royal Albatross Lays Her Egg Live on Camera for the World to See
For the first time, viewers of New Zealand's Royal Cam watched a northern royal albatross lay her egg, starting a 79 day wait at the only mainland colony of its kind.
Viewers of New Zealand's Royal Cam got a rare front row seat on Sunday morning, November 1, when a northern royal albatross laid an egg live on the 24 hour stream from Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula.
According to New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC), it is the first time Royal Cam viewers have seen an egg being laid. The female, known as L, returned to the colony on October 13. Rather than build a new nest, she took over last season's Royal Cam nest, putting the whole moment in front of a global audience.
DOC ranger Sharyn Broni said she woke to hundreds of comments on the live feed. "I have seen other toroa laying eggs, but none were as noisy as she was," she said.
A long wait begins
L and her mate are already taking turns sitting on the egg. Incubation for toroa, the Māori name for the royal albatross, lasts roughly 79 days, or about two and a half months. Rangers plan to check the egg within 10 to 12 days to see whether it is fertile.
The timing is remarkable. Chicks from the previous breeding season finished fledging only about two weeks earlier, with a record equal 38 young birds leaving Pukekura. DOC says four more eggs were laid at the colony in the days after L's.
A colony like no other
Pukekura/Taiaroa Head is the only mainland site in the world where northern royal albatross breed. The colony is co-managed by Te Poari a Pukekura, a partnership of DOC, Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the Korako Karetai Trust and Dunedin City Council, with support from the Otago Peninsula Trust.
The Royal Cam is run with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York and draws millions of views each year. Te Poari a Pukekura chair Bill Karaitiana said the stream is helping people understand the birds' 11 month breeding season.
Broni has worked with the colony for about 30 years and remembers seasons with only around 10 fledglings a year. Today's numbers show what patient, hands on conservation can achieve, and the team hopes the population will one day grow enough to need less intensive management.
"It connects people with this taonga species and makes people feel part of their journey," Broni said.
Anyone can follow L and her mate as incubation continues. Watch the Royal Cam on the DOC website.
- albatross
- New Zealand
- wildlife
- conservation
- Royal Cam
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