The Chatham Islands

The Pyramid - a vertical seabird colony packed with Chatham Albatrosses and Northern Buller's Albatrosses.

Chatham Albatross

Northern Buller's Albatross

Chatham and Pitt Islands are smaller echoes of the North and South Islands of New Zealand, 800 kilometers west of the Chathams. Both island groups have been largely cleared of native forest vegetation to make way for pastures to feed sheep and cows. Large colonies of seabirds once flourished in the predator-free islands until human colonization. While New Zealanders are world leaders in returning islands to predator-free status and repopulating safe islands with native plant and bird species, much has been lost during the interim.

The list of extinct species due to human impact includes the Chatham Penguin, related to the Little Blue Penguin, and the Waitaha Penguin of the South Island, related to the Yellow-eyed Penguin. Both extinct penguin species are known from fossils overlapping with human settlement.

Northern Buller's Albatross, landing gear deployed.

Northern Buller's Albatross

 The albatrosses' strategy to get food reminded me of soccer players going after the ball, sticking their bills in amongst the others, trying to grab the tidbits first. These Northern Giant Petrels had more of a rugby-style strategy: they just landed right on top of an albatross, often securing the food as they held the albatross underwater until it released a scrap of food.

Our trip so far has taken us to islands with virtually no human settlements beyond a few buildings serving researchers. Native vegetation and animal life are flourishing, or at least recovering from past massacres. As we approach Port Hutt on the northwest end of Chatham Island, I sense the day ashore will not be filled with the wide-eyed excitement I experienced upon landing at Enderby, Macquarie, and Campbell, but rather a day of transition back to civilization and to the final stage of our trip.

Although we were informed that the Zodiac landing on the beach could be a dry landing (stepping off the bow to sand is possible – I could wear my comfortable hiking boots), I’m glad I wore my gum boots with rain pants over them. Not only does it begin to rain shortly after landing, but while waiting on the gangplank platform to step in to the Zodiac, a swell comes up my legs to mid-thigh before subsiding. A wet departure, if not a wet landing.

Chatham Islands. Map copyright Kowhai Publishing Ltd 2011, published in New Zealand Geographic, Issue 111, Sep-Oct 2011.

Chatham Island Pigeon

Pitt Island Shag at South East Island

Quick tick of Pitt Island Shags, resting (nesting?) on an old wreck at the shoreline, then on to the buses for the drive to a native forest/bird reserve, Tuku Reserve, initiated to recover the Chatham Island Pigeon. Liz and Bruce Tuanui created this pocket of paradise, and several other reserves like it, surrounded by pastures but full of native vegetation and free of predators. I was stunned at the incredible diversity of plant life as we descended the steep grade into the valley. This area has been protected for about a decade and already the seed bank of native vegetation has grown into layers of habitat providing food and nesting areas for two very special species we saw there – the Chatham Island Pigeon (heaps of them!) and the Chatham Island Warbler (finally discovered after two hours of searching in the light rain). 

Active predator removal programs and predator-proof fencing is also critical for the success of the reserves in recovering the many endangered species. The removal of 87 cats and 800 possums in three months from a 50 acre reserve provides a sense of the challenges faced by both the birds trying to survive and reproduce and the incredible group of people volunteering their time and donating their land to stanch the considerable loss of biodiversity New Zealand has already suffered.

We did a fair amount of Zodiac cruising on this trip because landings aren't allowed on many of the islands to protect the recovering flora and fauna from introduced species and disturbance. Steve Howell (no hat, and always wearing sandals) was one of our excellent tour leaders and the guide for the WINGS group on the trip. His recent book, Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide, is excellent. Steve taught me a lot about the species we saw and he's directly responsible for me getting great looks at two very rare seabirds, the Chatham Petrel and the Chatham Island Taiko (Magenta Petrel), as well as two rarely seen cetaceans, a Southern Bottlenose Whale and a pod of Southern Right Whale Dolphins.

Shore Plover at South East Island

A flock of Chatham and N. Buller's Albatrosses en route to Pitt Island, leaving The Pyramid.

After spending some time in Waitangi walking the beach and enjoying my last time on land until our final port of Dunedin, we do a ship cruise off the coast of the southern portion of Chatham Island, where the rarest seabird in the world breeds. The Chatham Island Taiko, also called the Magenta Petrel after the Italian ship whose scientists obtained the first European-caught specimen in 1867, was thought to be extinct until David Crockett rediscovered it in 1978. There are now 100-150 individuals, a tiny remnant of what was once one of the most abundant vertebrate species on the island.

A color-banded Chatham Island Oystercatcher, with 2nd year Southern Black-backed Gull on beach at river mouth, Waitangi, Chatham Island.

As those of us still on the bridge during the dinner service (can’t get enough of Downton Abbey) continued to scan the horizon for anything unusual, the call went up from one of our top-notch bird guides, Adam Walleyn. He sees a Taiko, distant, eleven o’clock (the direction, with the bow defined as twelve o’clock and the stern as six o’clock). There’s probably nothing both so exciting as hearing someone has spotted the rare bird you’re all searching and so frustrating when you can’t seem to find it in your binoculars, knowing this may well be your only chance. Arrgh!!! Missed it. The good news is they’re here. Keep looking!!

Über-bird guide Steve Howell is constantly searching as we are chatting when suddenly he sees something over my shoulder in the wake of the ship and shouts “Chatham Petrel!” while running by me with his camera to get a picture. I’m right behind him with the rest of the birders at as much of a full sprint as possible with camera gear and binoculars in hand or dangling, balancing on the wet decks of a rolling ship with questionable footwear. I opt for a great view in my binoculars rather than trying to get a picture. As it flies away from us at five o’clock, I try in vain to help a birder, who was on the other side of the bridge and therefore at the end of the sprinting line, to get at least a glimpse of the bird that has the rest of us cheering and high-fiving each other.

Luckily, a short while later, we saw a second Chatham Petrel fly across the bow. In an even closer flight across the bow and down the starboard side of the ship (my running lane, to the lee of the wind), I was ecstatic to see my first, and only, Chatham Island Taiko. Again I took the opportunity to watch it for as long as possible in my binoculars, negating a picture. My emotions of giddy happiness, contemplation, and a touch of sadness as the end of the trip neared were reflected in the dramatic sunset. Golden rays shot through gaps in the slate-gray clouds, illuminating patches of wind-whipped water, culminating in a massive glimmering orb shining directly on us, moments before setting below the horizon.

Northern Royal Albatross at sea on our way back to Dunedin.

One of the two dining rooms. Note the empty seat (my usual spot because it's right next to the breakfast buffet and on the aisle): the seats are on posts and swivel. On one occasion when we were getting a little punchy from the big swells, we all swiveled from side-to-side in unison to counter the tilt. The combination of my incessant laughter at the scene and not wanting to eat much under those conditions meant I left most of my lunch untouched on the plate.

The Russian crew aboard our ship (including the night-watch team of Sergei and Albiert who taught me some Russian) had one day ashore before departing on back-to-back trips to the Ross Sea, Antarctica.

The Russian flag flying from the stern of Professor Khromov as we cruise the flat water of Otago Harbour coming into our final port at Dunedin.

Is That Your Last Penguin Species?

Erect-crested Penguins, Ringdove Bay, Antipodes Island

Erect-crested Penguins

Erect-crested Penguins with fluffy chicks

No one on our Zodiac answered yes to expedition leader Rodney Russ’ question but I’m sure over the years he’s had some very enthusiastic yeses with champagne toasts to follow. I’ve seen 13 of the 17 species of penguins worldwide in the last year, all pictured in the pages of this blog. I’m looking forward to future trips to South Africa, Chile, and the Galapagos to see their respective penguin species, but I sure wish the Rockhopper Penguin hadn’t been split. The Northern Rockhopper Penguin only breeds in the most remote locations. Maybe I’ll be able to answer yes to the penguin question someday but that trip is well down the list right now. Other than the Northern Rockhopper Penguin, the Erect-crested Penguin is probably the most difficult penguin to see because it only breeds on the remote Antipodes Islands and Bounty Islands, which are visited by cruise ships only a couple of times per year.

Southern Rockhopper Penguin

Oddly enough, we did see another boat when we pulled up to the welcome shelter of Antipodes Island: Tiama, a 50’ sailing vessel specifically designed for long trips in this region. The keel is retractable, allowing the yacht to get close to the islands. On this trip, Tiama was dropping off two scientists who came to study the albatross colonies on the island (mainly the majestic Antipodean Wandering Albatross, but Black-browed Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, and White-capped Shy Albatross also breed there). The scientists will be working on the island for two months. Talk about adventure research! If anything were to happen to these two people on this high-cliff-faced, high-tussocked, deep-peat-bogged island, a rescue ship would take at least four days to reach them.

Antipodes Island, New Zealand. Map copyright 2006, Heritage Expeditions, Straight Through From London by Rowley Taylor.

In June 1999, ornithologist and yachtsman Gerry Clark and crewman Roger Sale lost their lives on the 32’ sailboat Totorore (Maori name of the Antarctic Prion) after it wrecked and sunk, likely near South Bay, Antipodes Island. They were anchored at Alert Bay for a week while two scientists stayed on the island retrieving satellite transmitters from Antipodean Albatrosses. The wreck likely came during a shift to South Bay, either en route or by dragging an anchor, or perhaps if the LPG containers on board exploded. No one knows. Bits of certain wreckage from the boat were found in South Bay by one of the researchers when he was unable to contact Totorore by radio. The description of the ensuing searches for the wreckage is gripping, as told by Rowley Taylor in his book Straight Through From London, The Antipodes and Bounty Islands, New Zealand, published by Heritage Expeditions, 2006. Each passenger on our trip received a copy of the book as a wrapped Christmas present, complementing the wonderful Christmas decorations and epic Christmas dinner.

The tiny black and white dots (penguins) provide a sense of scale for this lower portion of the high cliffs surrounding Ringdove Bay. It's impressive that the penguins can get up and down these cliff faces. 

One of many scientific papers documenting the long-term research by Kath Walker and Graeme Elliott on the separate foraging distributions of the two species of albatross (Antipodean and Gibson’s - which breeds on the Auckland Islands) and interactions with longline fisheries (which kill albatrosses as they dive for the bait, get hooked, and drown) is full of interesting maps and acknowledges the significant role expeditioners play in subantarctic research, from the crew who lost their lives on the Totorore to the expedition leader of our trip.

Leaving the Antipodes Islands, bound for the Bounties.

The Antipodes Islands (49.9°S, 178.8°E) are named for their location on the nearly opposite side of Earth from London, England (51.5°N, 0.1°W). Greenwich Mean Time is defined by the Greenwich Meridian, 0° longitude. The Antipodes are very close to the International Date Line, defined mainly by the 180° Meridian, but adjusted for political boundaries. The crew and passengers aboard the Tiama, anchored at the Antipodes, and the seabird researchers on the Antipodes, were the first people to see the sun rise on a new millennium (New Year’s Eve 1999). They were also the first people to welcome 2013, followed shortly by our ship’s passengers and crew as we arrived at the Antipodes on New Year’s Day.

The Bounty Islands, New Zealand. Map copyright 2006, Heritage Expeditions, Straight Through From London by Rowley Taylor.

Two people on our trip were able to answer yes to a question I don’t quite know how to frame. Essentially the question is: Did you get to count your last possible New Zealand/Australian subantarctic island on your location list? Maybe the answer is yes with an asterisk because landings aren’t allowed at the Antipodes Islands or the Bounty Islands except for researchers. Bob and Don are tied for 3^rd Most Traveled People. Bob was on my Zodiac and we both touched Antipodes Island. Tick! (Not the blood-sucking kind). In addition to rabid birders (not the foaming at the mouth kind), this trip attracts big-time world travelers who are on a mission to go literally everywhere on Earth. If any of us named a place (country, state, isolated island group, etc) to these guys, they had been there. Even to the South Pole. The catch is, unlike ticking birds, you have to actually touch the ground to count it!

The asterisk is the Bounty Islands. We couldn’t do a Zodiac cruise there because the seas were too rough. They couldn’t touch one of the islands. Doesn’t count. Kind of like the feeling I had when I was penned up in my cabin after hurting my knee while boarding a Zodiac for a shore cruise in the Chatham Islands. I hadn’t seen the endemic Chatham Island Shag yet, but here I am lying in bed, listening to the announcement that this is our last chance and they’re flying around the ship right now. I can’t put weight on my knee – how am I supposed to get outside on a rocking ship to see it?! So I stare intently out my cabin window. Please fly by, please fly by! A little later, zoom – there goes a black and white shag – it’s not the (also endemic) Pitt Island Shag I’ve already seen so that’s it! The Chatham Island Shag. Whew. Tick. 

The Bounty Island Shag, one of the world's rarest cormorant species.  I don't have a picture of the similar fly-by I witnessed from my cabin window of a Chatham Island Shag, but add some orange to the forehead and you've got it. 

The moon over the Bounties as we leave these rocks teaming with seabirds. 

Nice day at sea between the Bounty Islands and the Chatham Islands (video link)

Southern Royal Happy Hour at Campbell Island, 3:30pm

Our ship is dwarfed by the magnitude of Perseverance Harbour.

I'm so envious of the researchers I met who are studying the several albatross species nesting on Campbell Island. This couple was putting on a great show for all of us, overlooking Northeast Harbour.

Geared up! That's my Canon 60D with an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens (heavy but worth it), and tucked into each side under my jacket pockets are my Leica binoculars and my Canon EOS Rebel T3 with an 18-55mm lens. And a dry bag on my back with more warm clothes and rain gear.

We had the better part of a day ashore on Campbell Island after our run with the heavy swell at 11 knots for 34 hours. We approached our anchorage for the day through Perseverance Harbour, the name suggesting the key characteristic early explorers of the Southern Ocean shared. We began the day with a Zodiac cruise to Tucker and Garden Coves, searching successfully for the endemic Campbell Island Flightless Teal and the Campbell Island Shag. Since neither of these species goes far from the island (with the teal always within a quick scurry/swim of land), they differ modestly from the teal and shags on other subantarctic islands so the trip checklist quickly filled with each island’s version of not only teal and shag, but also pipit, tomtit, penguin, parakeet, etc. Even for the species that can fly from island to island with ease, such as the albatrosses, petrels, storm-petrels, and prions, each species tends to breed on a specific island or set of islands.

Our ship anchored near the base of Beeman Hill at the head of Perseverance Harbour on Campbell Island. We walked on the duckboard (boardwalk) up the ridge to the north of Beeman Hill and west of Mt Lyall, continuing west from there to the “view” from the west coast cliffs. Although others who went straight for the view actually had one, I only saw fog and nearly got blown away by the wind at the top of the western cliffs. Time to retreat quickly back to the megaherbs and albatrosses. 
Map: Subantarctic New Zealand, A Rare Heritage by Neville Peat, copyright 2003 Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai.

Megaherbs in bloom near the top of the western cliffs in heavy fog.

Lovely lichen in the mini-forest near the scientific station. On our way up the narrow path, this is about the spot where  a male New Zealand Fur Seal decided we were intruding and he'd have none of it. Our guide Adam valiantly fenced with him for awhile with a rotten stick he found by the trail, keeping the fur seal at bay just long enough for the string of 30+ people to get by safely. Normally they're all bluff and no bite but I wasn't convinced that was the case with this guy so I was relieved when we didn't see him on the way down (others greeted us closer to shore but we had space to give them a wide berth). 

Campbell Island is the breeding site of the endemic Campbell Island Albatross, differing from the similar Black-browed Albatross by having a yellow iris instead of a black iris. Having a camera with a zoom lens was essential for me to identify some species in flight as is evident in several of these pictures.

Note the yellow iris of the Campbell Island Albatross.

I grabbed this picture from my Falklands Island post last year - these are Black-browed Albatrosses (which were also present on our trip but I didn't get a picture of one!). Note the dark iris but otherwise similar appearance to the Campbell Island Albatross. 

This Broad-billed Prion (flying) has a larger bill than the slim-billed Antarctic Prion below. The floating bird is a juvenile Southern Bullers Albatross, photographed between the Bounty Islands and Chatham Islands.

This is an Antarctic Prion, observed as we neared Macquarie Island. 

The highlight of our Campbell Island trip was a walk up to a Southern Royal Albatross colony. The expedition leader timed our walk for happy hour – it turns out albatrosses have about the same happy hour schedule as I do back in Portland (which goes something like this: "How early can you – friend – get done with work? 3:30? Por Que No? or Henry’s. 4:00? Oba. 4:30? Blue Hour or Clarklewis. 5:00? Nuestra Cocina or Nostrana)." Guess who’s missing happy hour with her friends.

The albatross’ version of happy hour involves more dancing and less tapas and tequila than my version, but we both share a fondness for gabbing with occasional funny gestures to accentuate our stories.

This male Southern Royal Albatross was moving pretty quickly to go visit with his friend.  The duckboard trail kept the rest of us from getting soggy feet or twisting ankles on our hike.

His display impressed her. And me. And all of the paparazzi lined up on the trail watching.

Kiss please!

I reluctantly started walking back to the ship, wanting happy hour with the Royals to extend in to the wee hours, but alas, dusk was spent cruising through peaceful and magical Perseverance Harbour. I watched the islands fade away in the distance as darkness fell, reflecting on the entertaining times I had with my shipmates on the trail as we experienced this incredibly special place. 

Link to YouTube Video of the Two Royals Pictured Above Flirting

Link to YouTube Video of Four Albatrosses Displaying and Bill Clicking