The Sooty and Light-mantled Albatross: Majestic Seabirds of the Southern Ocean

 The Sooty and Light-mantled Albatross: Majestic Seabirds of the Southern Ocean

“Graceful wings carry dreams to distant horizons as the Sooty Albatross soars above the vast expanse of the ocean. This breathtaking dance with the winds, it reminds us of the beauty and resilience of life’s journey. May we find inspiration in its elegant flight, embracing our own challenges with unwavering grace and soaring towards the limitless possibilities that lie ahead.”

“Graceful wings carry dreams to distant horizons as the light-mantled Albatross soars above the vast expanse of the ocean. In this breathtaking dance with the winds, it reminds us of the beauty and resilience of life’s journey. May we find inspiration in its elegant flight, embracing our own challenges with unwavering grace and soaring towards the limitless possibilities that lie ahead.”

Introduction:

Albatrosses are among the most iconic and fascinating seabirds, known for their immense size, remarkable wingspan, and extraordinary flying abilities. The sooty albatross (Phoebetria fusca) and the light-mantled albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) are two notable species within this group. These magnificent birds roam the vast expanses of the Southern Ocean, captivating scientists and nature enthusiasts alike. In this article, we delve into the world of the sooty and light-mantled albatrosses, exploring their physical characteristics, behaviour, habitat, conservation status, and the challenges they face in the modern world.

The Phoebetria albatross, also known as the Light-mantled Albatross, is a species found primarily in the southern oceans, particularly in the Subantarctic and Antarctic regions.

It is a medium-sized albatross with a wingspan ranging from 195 to 210 centimetres (77 to 83 inches) and a body length of around 75 centimetres (30 inches).

Physical Characteristics:

1. Sooty Albatross:
2. The sooty albatross is a medium-sized species, measuring around 80-90 centimetres long and weighing approximately 2.5-4 kilograms. They possess a 200-225 centimetres wingspan, making them adept long-distance fliers. These birds exhibit distinctive dark sooty plumage, with a black bill, dark eyes, and a white patch on their underwings.
3. Light-mantled Albatross:
4. The light-mantled albatross is a larger species, measuring around 90-100 centimetres long and weighing approximately 3.5-5.3 kilograms. They have an impressive wingspan of about 200-235 centimetres. These birds are named for the pale grey or light-brown mantle that covers their upper wings and back. They have a black bill, dark eyes, and white underparts.

These albatrosses are excellent flyers and can travel long distances without flapping their wings, using a gliding technique called dynamic soaring. This allows them to cover vast areas while expending minimal energy.

The Phoebetria albatross is known for its striking appearance, with a distinctive grey upper body and a white underside. Its name is “Light-mantled” from the light grey feathers on its upper body.

Behaviour and Life Cycle:

1. Breeding:
2. Both the sooty and light-mantled albatrosses are colonial breeders nesting on remote islands within the Southern Ocean. They form lifelong pair bonds and engage in intricate courtship rituals that involve elaborate displays, vocalizations, and bill duelling. These birds typically breed in large colonies, creating nests out of grass, moss, and soil.
3. Feeding Habits:
4. Albatrosses are renowned for their exceptional flying and foraging skills. They are pelagic birds, spending most of their lives at sea, with extended journeys covering thousands of kilometres. Sooty and light-mantled albatrosses primarily feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. They employ various feeding techniques, including surface-seizing, plunge-diving, and scavenging.
5. Flying Abilities:
6. Albatrosses possess remarkable flying capabilities thanks to their long, narrow wings and specialized adaptations. They can glide effortlessly for hours, utilizing oceanic winds to their advantage. These birds can cover vast distances with minimal energy expenditure, a skill known as dynamic soaring. This technique involves alternating between high-speed flights and low-energy glides, allowing them to remain airborne for extended periods.

The diet of the Phoebetria albatross consists mainly of fish, squid, and crustaceans. They dive into the water from great heights to catch their prey.

Habitat and Distribution:

1. Sooty Albatross:
2. The sooty albatross is predominantly found in the Southern Ocean, particularly around subantarctic islands and the Antarctic region. They breed on remote islands such as South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Kerguelen Islands.
3. Light-mantled Albatross:
4. The light-mantled albatross is primarily distributed in the subantarctic and Antarctic regions. They breed on select islands, including South Georgia, the Auckland Islands, and the Macquarie Islands.

The diet of the Phoebetria albatross consists mainly of fish, squid, and crustaceans. They dive into the water from great heights to catch their prey.

Conservation Status and Threats:

1. Sooty Albatross:
2. The sooty albatross is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of
3. The Light-mantled Albatross is classified as Near-threatened, with 22000 pairs breeding in summer on sub-Antarctic islands.

Breeding colonies of Phoebetria albatrosses are found on remote islands in the Southern Ocean. They typically nest on steep slopes or cliffs, building their nests out of mud, grass, and other available materials.

Flock to Marion 2022: Aboard the MSC Orchestra, we ventured into the Southern Ocean

A group of the most enthusiastic birders from South Africa and abroad ventured into the Southern Ocean on a cruise liner in search of these vulnerable seabirds. Please read about our experience and enjoy these memorable moments as we learn about the plight of most seabirds in their struggle for survival.

Bon Voyage!

As the MSC Orchestra sailed out of Cape Town Harbour, we needed to pinch ourselves to ensure this wasn’t a dream. Finally, after three years of careful planning and many hurdles, Birdlife South Africa’s Flock to Marion was underway. We were heading into the roughest, stormiest ocean in the world. We were going where no cruise liner had dared venture, the Southern Ocean, specifically Prince Edward and Marion Island. 

We were observing the memorable setting as we sailed past Cape Point; Jonathan Rossouw happened to be the Bird Guide manning one of the stations. Listening to his endless stories on the Sea Birds of the Southern Ocean was a privilege. Discussing the species Phoebetria Albatross, we couldn’t help but enjoy this topic and how romantic this bird was portrayed. 

How accurate he was when we arrived at Marion, and the excited voices cried out over the loud hailers, “Light-mantled Albatross. We witnessed such beauty and elegance as these Phoebetria danced with the wind. A dramatic display of aerial prowess that had us mesmerized. The Light-mantled Albatross was undoubtedly among my favourite Albatrosses on this remarkable adventure. Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing your love and passion for these Seabirds; we hope we can share this with others and that they, too, will share this joy.

Breeding colonies of Phoebetria albatrosses are found on remote islands in the Southern Ocean. They typically nest on steep slopes or cliffs, building their nests out of mud, grass, and other available materials.

Mouse-free Marion Project:

Marion Island, located in the southern Indian Ocean between South Africa and Antarctica, needs our urgent help. The island is home to some two million individual seabirds representing 28 species, many of which are helpless victims to a dire threat and are being pushed towards extinction. House Mice, inadvertently introduced to Marion Island by sealers in the early 19th century, have devastatingly impacted the island’s ecology, including killing its native seabirds.

The Mouse-Free Marion Project aims to remove the mice from Marion Island in 2025. This urgent and ambitious conservation project will prevent the deaths of millions of seabirds, helping to secure a positive future for the iconic Wandering Albatross. These many other seabirds call the island home and, indeed, the ecological integrity of this critical sub-Antarctic island. Removing mice from Marion Island will represent a significant and lasting conservation legacy.

These albatrosses are monogamous and form long-term pair bonds. They usually return to the same breeding colony and mate with the same partner year after year.

THE MOUSE-FREE MARION PROJECT: 

YOU CAN HELP SAVE MARION ISLAND’S SEABIRDS

Mice were accidentally introduced to Marion Island, most probably by sealers in the early 19th century, and have devastated the island’s ecology. A warmer and drier climate over the last 30 years has contributed to an increase in the densities of mice on the island each summer, causing a shortage of invertebrates, upon which the mice had been surviving in the winter months. This shortage of food has driven mice to find alternative food sources. Unfortunately, as on other oceanic islands, the mice found many seabirds had no defence against their attacks and were literally “sitting ducks”. The scale and frequency of attacks have increased since they were first observed in the early 2000s and have escalated dramatically in the last few years. Without immediate action, Marion Island’s seabirds face local extinction. Left unchecked, the mice are predicted to cause the local extinction of 19 of the 28 species of breeding seabirds currently found on the island, some within the next 30 years.

The breeding cycle of the Phoebetria albatross is quite lengthy. After mating, the female lays a single egg, which both parents take turns incubating for about two months. After hatching, the chick is fed by both parents and takes six to seven months to fledge.

In an ambitious undertaking, the Mouse-Free Marion Project aims to remove the introduced House Mice, which endangers the long-term survival of the seabirds and other native species of South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island.

In the southern hemisphere winter of 2025, helicopters brought by sea across the ‘Roaring Forties’ from South Africa will spread rodenticide bait from underslung bait buckets in overlapping swathes across the entire island – the only method that has so far proven successful in eradicating rodents from large islands. At 30 000 hectares, Marion will be substantially larger than all previous rodent eradication efforts undertaken on islands in a single operation.

The breeding cycle of the Phoebetria albatross is quite lengthy. After mating, the female lays a single egg, which both parents take turns incubating for about two months. After hatching, the chick is fed by both parents and takes six to seven months to fledge.

 MARION AND THE PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS

Marion Island forms part of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Island group, located approximately 2300 km southeast of Cape Town in the southern Indian Ocean. Marion Island is the larger of Prince Edward Islands, providing globally essential breeding sites for seabirds and other wildlife.

The location of the Prince Edward Islands and the highly productive surrounding ocean make it a haven for wildlife. The island group is home to almost half of the world’s Wandering Albatrosses, millions of other seabirds and other species of wildlife, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

Conditions on Marion are harsh – constant winds, low temperatures, and large amounts of snow and rain make it a challenging place to live. The vegetation is restricted to grasses, mosses, lichens, forbs & cushion plants, and much of the island’s lowland is marshy due to the high precipitation.

The Phoebetria albatross has a relatively low reproductive rate, with only one chick raised every two years on average. This slow breeding rate makes them particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction and climate change threats.

The Phoebetria albatross has a relatively low reproductive rate, with only one chick raised every two years on average. This slow breeding rate makes them particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction and climate change threats.

Both islands were declared a Special Nature Reserve in 1995 to enhance their flora and fauna protection. In addition, the Prince Edward Island group is designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, an Important Bird Area. It is surrounded by a large Marine Protected Area that includes all territorial waters and large parts of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Marion is a jewel in South Africa’s Island crown – it is wild and beautiful and hosts globally important seabird populations and charismatic marine megafauna. In the past, Marion Island was visited by sealers and whalers who targeted the abundant marine megafauna of the island. During these visits in the early 19th century, stowaway mice could make it onto the island. The introduced mice have impoverished island habitats, devastated populations of native invertebrates, and have recently resorted to preying on seabirds. The mice eat alive the chicks and even adults of surface-nesting and burrowing seabirds. The scale and intensity of these attacks are increasing. Without intervention, many species are expected to become locally extinct. Therefore, removing mice from Marion Island to protect its threatened plants and animals – and the entire ecosystem – is an urgent and immediate conservation imperative.

 

Conditions on Marion are harsh – constant winds, low temperatures, and large amounts of snow and rain make it a challenging place to live. The vegetation is restricted to grasses, mosses, lichens, forbs & cushion plants, and much of the island’s lowland is marshy due to the high precipitation.

Both islands were declared a Special Nature Reserve in 1995 in order to enhance the protection of their flora and fauna. The Prince Edward Island group is designated as Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, an Important Bird Area, and is surrounded by a large Marine Protected Area that includes all territorial waters and large parts of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Marion is a jewel in South Africa’s Island crown – it is wild and beautiful and hosts globally important seabird populations and charismatic marine megafauna. In the past, Marion Island was visited by sealers and whalers who targeted the abundant marine megafauna of the island. During these visits in the early 19th century, stowaway mice could make it onto the island. The introduced mice have impoverished island habitats, devastated populations of native invertebrates, and have recently resorted to preying on seabirds. The mice are eating alive the chicks and even adults of surface-nesting and burrowing seabirds. The scale and intensity of these attacks are increasing. Without intervention, many species are expected to become locally extinct. Removing mice from Marion Island to protect its threatened plants and animals – and indeed the entire ecosystem – is an urgent and immediate conservation imperative.

 

Despite conservation efforts, the Phoebetria albatross is vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Threats to their population include habitat disturbance, bycatch in fishing operations, and ingesting marine debris, mainly plastic. Conservation measures are crucial to ensure the survival of this majestic species in the wild.

 

Despite conservation efforts, the Phoebetria albatross is vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Threats to their population include habitat disturbance, bycatch in fishing operations, and ingesting marine debris, mainly plastic. Conservation measures are crucial to ensure the survival of this majestic species in the wild.

Information source: The Mouse-Free Marion Project