Albatross stories

If you have visited our blog before, you will probably have heard about our famous Albatross Task Force by now. The international team of seabird bycatch mitigation instructors work in some of the world’s albatross hotspots to support the use o...

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to live and work amongst the albatrosses on Bird Island, South Georgia? We caught up with Erin Taylor, Zoological Field Assistant for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) who is currently spending 18-months ...

With over 1,000 vessels operating throughout most of the global ocean, Taiwan is one of the world’s important fishing nations. One of the most lucrative species targeted is tuna, which is predominantly caught by longline fishing methods. E...

Aotearoa New Zealand and Spain are working together to protect one of the world’s most endangered seabirds, the Antipodean albatross, Diomedea antipodensis. In December 2021, New Zealand’s Ambassador for Spain, Nigel Fyfe, on behalf of t...

Do you know where your supermarket seafood is sourced? We have partnered with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and Whale and Dolphin Conservation to tackle bycatch and encourage retailers to supply sustainably sourced seafood.  Fisheries by...

Monday 8th March we're celebrating International Women's Day. #AlbatrossStories is a platform to share the lives of albatrosses across the world, the challenges they face, the journeys they go on, the incredible lengths these #SuperMums will go to. ...

The journey of Bird Island’s “modern wandering albatross” moves into its next phase! If you have been following #AlbatrossStories, you may remember one of our recent blogs where we pondered “What is it like being a modern wan...

You may have seen us mention that it was the FIRST EVER WORLD ALBATROSS DAY on the 19th June this year! To say we were excited is a big wandering-albatross-sized understatement and it seems we weren’t alone! But if you’ve just joined us,...

A lot has changed since we started following wandering albatross chicks on Bird Island. It began last year with our first wanderer family Amelia and Atlas, and their chick Greta. Greta is currently on a whirlwind adventure for at least the next five...

We continue our conversation with BirdLife International seabird ecologist Ana Carneiro, talking more about her study to uncover interactions between wandering albatross and fishing vessels, in “near-real time”. You can read part one here...

Ana Carneiro is a seabird ecologist, enthusiast and all-round inspirational #WomanInScience. She has recently returned from a research trip to our very own Bird Island in South Georgia, home to #AlbatrossStories, where she has been collecting data fo...

We set sail from the pier at Torquato Pontes Pescados in Rio Grande, southern Brazil, at 1:30 AM. In a precise manoeuvre the captain steered the boat safely out of port, despite the 25 knot winds making her roll back and forth. The strong winds did n...

Bird Island is the place to be! As always, it is go go go down on South Georgia – although it is particularly the case at this time of year. Home to four out of the world’s 22 albatross species, there is always something going on due to ...

That’s it, you read it right… GRETA HAS FLEDGED! Those of you who have been following along with #AlbatrossStories since the beginning of the year will know Greta very well indeed.  Thinking of it like that really puts it into persp...

We continue our conversation with Alex Dodds, one of British Antarctic Survey’s albatross field assistants based on the frontline of albatross conservation, Bird Island in South Georgia. You can read part one here, where Alex explained what it ...

If you have been following along with #AlbatrossStories and watching the nest cams of Greta, you will have seen the extreme changeability of sub-Antarctic weather. And whilst some of us sit in the comfort of our own homes, marvelling at these incredi...

Our infamous wandering albatross chick, Greta, is now six months old! Since she hatched all the way back in March, so much has changed, not just for her, but in the environment around her and beyond! When Greta started making her way out of her egg i...

Bird Island. An exposed, raw, isolated island in South Georgia. Although only under 5km in length and reaching 800m at its widest point, this island gets its name for a reason. Bird Island is home to four of the world’s 22 albatross species s...

While our five, feathered stars on #BirdIsland occupy most of #AlbatrossStories, our human stars work tirelessly behind the scenes to improve the protection of these birds from dangers they face both on land and at sea. We spoke with Albatross Task F...

Stephanie Prince reveals how an albatross researcher’s life becomes inevitably and irreversibly intertwined with the lives of their subjects and outlines her plans for the future. From the moment I first saw my first albatross back in 2012, my ...

In the first of a two-part ode to the albatross, RSPB's Albatross Bycatch Project Manager Stephanie Prince sheds light on the lives of these magical species, explains why we can all identify with their charismatic personalities, and outlines...

We have all marvelled at the beauty of albatross through #AlbatrossStories, detailing the lives of albatross from the island of South Georgia.  However, the hard reality is that the birds we have been following stand a high chance of one day acc...

As we celebrate World Environment Day and World Ocean Day with #AlbatrossStories, we’re taking a look at a conservation tale of terrible decline, but one which we have the power to give a happy ending.   Seabirds are some of the most beaut...

There is big news from Bird Island – Bobby our grey-headed albatross chick has fledged! Bobby was first laid as an egg all the way back in October and he hatched in December. Now Bobby is finally answering the call of the ocean and has left ...

The Government of South Georgia and the Sandwich Isles (SGSSI) recently announced some brilliant news: they have committed to extending official protection of their waters to the entirety of their maritime zone (the area of water surrounding the isla...