
21:04

21:38

Sharyn Broni (DOC) Mod
Thursday Colony Update 1-Feb-18
2017/2018 Season
Power outage due to extreme weather but at least the heat wave is off also!
Thirteen chicks have hatched so far so a busy time during the heat.
We have had some faster hatchings due to some wet weather prior to the heat wave, the much slower 7 days occurs during long dry periods.
Chick Weighing is carried out twice a day for the first week then once a day for the next week, after which each chick is weighed weekly on a Tuesday. Weather conditions allowing of course.
We are using cotton bags this season to reduce our plastic. Once they get bigger they will move into the weigh baskets on increasing size.
We will be getting the track the chicks weight page updated shortly as you can imagine things are extremely busy with extra hands required over the last couple of days.
Check out the What to Expect on RoyalCam as it has a month by month breakdown of what happens in the colony.
See ‘News From Taiaroa Head’ for the media release of the first chick hatching. It hatched out only hours before the RoyalCam chick.
The microphone is on (at least it is when we have power..)
What might you be hearing?
Skycalling: Loud call with bill pointed towards the sky, a greeting (note: ecstatic skycall also has wings outstretched and is used in
mate selection gams sometimes known as teenage parties)
Chick begging: A ‘wheeel’ sound, the chick must beg to be fed
Clappering: Snapping of the beak, a loud clapping sound and a warning to intruders
How did we keep the heat down during the heatwave
Hand spraying, useful when only a few nests are too hot
Irrigation lines, when the whole colony is too hot
Grass cutting, lets any breeze in, the low dry grass can reach temperatures of up to 50C.
We may be back online this afternoon, if not we should be up and running again tomorrow morning. Be assured that the albatross are really well adapted to this sort of weather.
Bye for now and stay safe out there.