Ajouter "Royal Albatross Hatchling Returned To Female At Nest Site | DOC | Cornell Lab – Jan 26, 2022"

The moment we've been waiting for has arrived! After spending 5 days hatching out in an incubator, the Royal Albatross chick has been returned to the care of the female (YRK) at the Quarry Track nest site. The #RoyalCam chick is the 11th to hatch so far across the breeding colony at the Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve on New Zealand's South Island. Watch Ranger Sharyn from the New Zealand Department of Conservation remove the dummy egg from beneath the female, apply bird-safe insect repellant to the nest bowl, and return the hatchling. After a quick check, YRK accepts her still-damp hatchling and settles in with a shimmy over the nest. Stay until the end to see YRK lift up for an up-close look at the chick. Why was the chick in an incubator? At the onset of hatching, the egg is swapped with a dummy egg and housed in an incubator for the remainder of the hatching process, which can take several days. Hatching chicks are highly threatened by infestation of fly larvae, known as "fly strike", which can cause serious health issues and even death. By translocating the egg to an incubator, the risk of fly strike is completely removed during hatching. This process is done for all of the eggs in the colony. RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation. For the 2021-22 season we have collaborated with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To learn more while watching, view the cam at https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native... or at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/royal-albatross/ ******************************* Royal Cam is a 24-hour live stream of a Northern Royal Albatross nest during the breeding season at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the southeast tip of New Zealand's South Island. The 2021/22 Royal Albatross cam season is underway with a return performance from breeding pair YRK (the female, named for her leg bands colored yellow/red/black) and OGK (the male, orange/green/black), last seen on cam in 2019-2021. The female laid the pair’s egg on November 9. This pair of ocean wanderers has been together since 2006, and in 2019–2020 they were the stars of the Royal Cam, raising their chick Atawhai all the way to fledging. After their successful breeding season, YRK and OGK took last year off to replenish their energy reserves, a pattern that is typical for Royal Albatross parents. Now these two are fully prepared for the long haul of another 10-month nesting period. Learn more about this season’s Royal Cam family from DOC: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/meet-the-royal-family/ A new season means a fresh view of the Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve’s windswept headland! The camera has been repositioned to feature this new nest for the official start of the season. Be sure to follow the cam on Twitter https://twitter.com/RoyAlbatrossCam to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another action-packed season on New Zealand’s South Island.