4.4.23
4.11.23 (GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Featured by Department of Conservation
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Weight for SP on day 82 is 7 kg. This is a very good weight for this age and only 100g shy of the heaviest chick weight today.
4.12.23(GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Today SP chick is 88 days and weighs 7.8 kg, 600 g heavier than the average male at this age.
As the average adult weighs 7 kg SP chick was weighing the same as an average adult last week and is now 800g heavier than most adults.
It is quite normal for albatross chicks to become heavier than adults. The extra weight gets them through the cold winter months and is energy for the fast growth of enormous wings and all the feathers required for life on the ocean.
The feathers are already coming through under the down and are in fact part of the secondary down structure. The down will break off the tips of the feathers as they mature. In the meantime the down and feathers and a full belly provide great insulation in this rainy weather.
He is Such A Good Boy! 4.18.23
101 diena un svars 10 kg.Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) ModSharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Today was an early weigh day, SP is now and weighs 10 kg at 101 days. He was fed twice today prior to weighing.
SP chick is now the heaviest chick in the colony. This weight is almost 2 kg above the average weight for a 101-day-old male. This happens from time to time when a chick is fed twice before weighing.
As GLY was definitely in at 9.27 am it is likely that it was L in earlier at 7.08 am when the light and the grass made it hard to determine the band combination.
He Is Now 10kg & Is The Heaviest Chick In The Colony! 5.1.23
GTSharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC)
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone )
Today South Plateau chicks weight has dropped back to 7.8 kg. He is now 109 days old.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-rele ... or-a-name/
As always with albatross chicks the weight fluctuations can be large depending of the timing of weighing compared to the parents feeding the chick. We hope to see
SP's parents back in soon.
Last week's 10 kg is still a record for this season though with this week's heaviest chick weighing in at 9.6 kg.
As is the tradition for all of the Royalcam chicks we are seeking a name for this seasons chick.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-a ... ethechick/
(GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
SP chick is 116 days old today. The weight at 11.55 am was 9.4 g. This is back up to being 500 g above the average weight for a male chick this age. Both parents have fed SP chick 7 times since last week's low weight of 7.8 kg.
5.16.23 ,dzīvē.
un svars atkal sarucis. 5.23.23(GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
The public voting is now open until 16 June.
Vote here: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-a ... ethechick/
We worked with Te Poāri a Pukeura to produce a list of top 10 names for public vote. Choose your favourite from the list in the link below before 16 June 2023 at 5 pm (NZST).
Once voting has closed, we will tally the results and announce the winners on Monday, 19 June 2023.
For reference, here and the names and their meanings here as well as on the voting page:
Manawarōa
This means resilience. This name was chosen as the Southern Ocean and its wildlife including royal albatross need resilience to endure modern changes to their environment.
Rerenga
Rerenga means voyage or flight. It can also mean the rising and setting of the sun.
This reflects the huge journeys our chick will undertake of up to 190,000 km per year. It also reflects the cyclical nature of migration across generations, from parents to children.
Ake
Ake means upwards. We want the chick to stay strong and grow up well. So this names relate to our hope that their health will keep advancing upward so they will not be endangered.
Tere
This means to glide, float, or drift. Albatrosses do this as part of their dynamic soaring technique. Some albatross species only move their wings for 15% of their flights and soar for the rest.
Manaia
Manaia was selected because it means a messenger between two worlds and guardianship. This relates to the role the chick plays as a messenger between the human and natural world.
Pairuri
Pairuri means concern, care, consideration. The entrant who submitted this hoped that the Royal Cam chick will represent this to others and remind them to act to protect the environment.
Manaaki
This means providing support, protection, and hospitality and showing admiration and kindness. The entrant who offered this name felt the chick needs our support, protection, and our hospitality to reduce environmental harm, starting with plastic pollution.
Ataahua
This name means graceful. This has been selected as the albatross is uniquely graceful in its flying and movement.
Whetu
This means star. This name was selected as it relates to the chick as a similarly meaningful guide in the sky.
Rere
This translates to fly, flow, flee, leap, descend or glide as well as many other energetic actions. The entrant of this name felt this reflects the chick and its life at sea.
6.13.23Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) ModSharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
It's World Albatross Day and on this day we're also happy to announce that the Royal Cam chick has a name!
Introducing Manaaki, the 2023 Royal Cam chick!
At the beginning of the competition, we had over 140 name submissions from the global Royal Cam fans and from that we worked together with Te Poāri a Pukekura to come up with a list of our top 10 names, for the public to vote on.
We had just under 1,200 of votes, with the winning name Manaaki having been voted for 209 times. (The name Manaia came at a close second with 196 votes!)
A huge congratulations to Megan who submitted the winning name. You have won our Royal Cam prize pack. We'll email you with some details and we'll get your prize sent out to you ASAP.
The theme for World Albatross Day is "Plastic Pollution" and we asked people to align their name suggestions with this theme. Megan did just that.
According to Megan's name entry inspiration, Manaaki in te reo Māori means providing support, protection, and hospitality – showing admiration and kindness.
"The albatrosses need our support and protection because we are impacting their environment. They deserve our hospitality in reducing environmental harm, starting with plastic pollution. I have adored my experience in watching the albatross chick and have been influenced to start reducing my plastic pollution and start recycling. I hope that naming the albatross chick Manaaki will encourage others to cherish and conserve this species as I plan to do."
We also have some spot prizes for names that we really liked and had excellent submission entries. We will email these winners to let them know they've won.
(GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Today was weigh day (11.37) and Manaaki was previously fed by GLY at 09.58.
Manaaki is now 158 days and is a huge 12kg or 26.45 pounds. That is about the same weight as a dachshund or an average car tire.
We had to make the Track the Chick's weight graph bigger...
Manaaki is 1kg heavier than the next heaviest chick today and 2kg heavier than Royalcam chick Tūmanako at the same age.
On the other side of the spectrum the Upper Quarry (UQ) chick behind Manaaki is hovering around 8kg (he is 11 days younger than Manaaki but this is still very light). UQ has started to be supplementary fed. We do not have a confirmed sighting of the dad BLY since the end of May. UQ along with 2 other chicks were supp fed on Sunday. LOL came to supp feed UQ chick afterwards and both the mums from the other 2 chicks came in straight away too. I suspect the chances of that happening are miniscule! The 3 chicks all benefited from a parental feed on top of the supplements with one not needing supplementary fed again today.
The growth rate of all the chicks is expected to level off from now on and Manaaki will drop in weight about 2.5kg prior to fledging.
All the chicks will be banded prior to fledging in September when they are 7-8 months old.
his season's cohort of chicks will receive the D series of darvic bands for quick identification as they move around the colony. These bands do not need glued like the previous colour bands that the adults have. They will not be replaced when they return as adolescents either but keep these bands. Males will receive black bands and females the yellow bands. Numbers have not yet been assigned to individual chicks.
Banding will take place at the end of July.
Taču uztraukumi ir garām un ar spārnu esot viss labi. 
(GT)Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC)
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Today Manaaki is 186 days old and weighed 9 kg at 11.30 am this morning. Although this weight in well below the average weight for a male of this age Manaaki has spent a lot of time well above average. Chicks reach peak weight around this age; however, it is likely that Manaaki has peaked earlier, and weight will fluctuate on a downwards trend until fledging in September. Keep a look out for his parents GLY and L, they should be due back any time now.
Manaaki will likely become more mobile in the coming weeks, and we will have the cam panned out at maximum width to keep him in the frame as much as possible. Close ups will still of course be provided when there is a cam-op avaliable. Enjoy this close up video of Manaaki taken on the 24th of July.
Salt excretions are sticky which is why there is also down and dirt on the bill.
The salt glands filter the salt water much the same way that kidneys filter the blood. However, salt glands only function after feeding.
Here is some more technical information from Wikipedia
You can clearly see the black edge to the upper part of the bill. This is a defining feature between the 2 groups of great albatrosses, the Wanderers and the Royals. They Royals have the black edge, the Wanderers do not.
On Friday 28th of July we will be banding all 33 chicks in the colony so that we can identify them when they return as adolescents.
Males will receive a black band and females will receive a yellow band. All chicks will have a uniquely numbered Stainless-Steel band on the opposite leg. This season the letter for all chicks is D, from now on each year will have their own letter on the band.
These bands do not require the plastic overlap being glue onto itself as in previous colour bands.
We will provide more information on Friday, including Manaaki's and his neighbours band numbers.
7.25.23Sharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) ModSharyn Broni (Ranger, DOC) Mod
Featured by Department of Conservation
Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)
Today was a big day at Pukekura with all 33 chicks banded with Stainless-Steel bands and a unique alphanumeric darvic band.
Although we used the numeric darvic bands on the chicks last season, this is the first season that the permanent alphanumeric darvic bands have been used on the chicks. They are a permanent, life-time band that will not need to be replaced when they return as adolescents.
Manaaki's darvic band is D36 and it is black for males.
The females have yellow darvic bands so that we can tell male and females apart easily. NTF chick has D17 darvic band.
The bands are large, with and internal diameter of 19 mm. The Stainless-Steel bands are a height of 12 mm and take careful adjusting to get them on the leg, so they do not cause any issues later.
If 2- or 3-weeks Stainless-Steel bands will be checked during weigh day for potential issues so there is time to make any
adjustments prior to fledging.
On Tuesday, Manaaki was 186 days old and weighed 9kg. He has been fed by GLY today.
Chick weights have evened off and the older ones, like Manaaki, are starting to drop in preparation for fledging in September.
7.28.23 
