The large body and wide wingspan of Laysan Albatross can pose a serious threat to pilots and to the birds themselves when nesting and flying in airspace surrounding PMRF’s airfield. Tessa Broholm, a wildlife biologist with USDA Wildlife Services conducts roves near the airfield on the lookout for birds that may wander into areas that could be hazardous for the birds or pilots. While providing training to Sailors at PMRF Tessa stated that often just having a strong presence in their immediate area is enough encouragement for the birds to change course and head towards safer grounds.
“Albatross can live for over 70 years and they usually return to the area where they hatched when it is time for them to nest,” said Broholm. “This makes it particularly challenging to implement long term solutions to encourage the birds to nest in safer areas once they’ve already chosen a place to nest”
Under the translocation program USDA Wildlife Services conducts daily searches for albatross eggs on the airfield and other potentially hazardous areas of the facility and coordinates with PMRF’s natural resources team to conduct two installation-wide sweeps annually. Albatross naturally form an attachment to their nest rather than their egg so biologists are able to swap eggs found on PMRF with known infertile eggs from other sites without alarming the parents. This swap helps to reduce the number of albatross nesting in hazardous locations while bolstering the population of safer colony sites on the north shore of Kauai.
Eggs collected on installation are labeled and placed into an incubator which aims to mimic the conditions that an egg would experience in its nest. The machine is set to a specific temperature and humidity with a gentle back and forth motion to allow them to continue to grow while they wait to be transported to their new nests. During the intake process team members check to see if the egg is viable through an examination called “candeling” and document any observations made for every egg collected.
“The egg translocation program is a success not only for the long-term health of albatross colonies but also for partnerships at PMRF,” said Brooke McFarland, PMRF’s Natural Resources Manager. “This project demonstrates the Navy’s commitment to working with the community to preserve the unique ecosystem of Kaua`i.”
Curious albatross that have not yet settled down to nest for the first time often visit PMRF to scout out the base for potential breeding sites which makes them prime candidates to be translocated to colonies on the north shore. Biologists keep track of individual birds by a marking band that is attached to the bird's leg. Each marker is unique and can be used to gain information about the individual’s previous sightings and behaviors. PMRF’s natural resources team uses this information to identify birds that have not developed as strong of a connection to the installation. When a bird that might be looking to nest for the first time is found near the airfield biologists carefully guide the birds into carriers so that the birds can be taken to partner sites and released there.
“When we release the albatross at a partner site we stick around to document the behaviors birds demonstrate at the new location,” said Yessica Carnley, a biologist with the University of Hawaii. “It’s important we record how they react, the hope is that they will take to the colony quickly and begin mingling with the other birds.”
This year, PMRF worked with many institutions, including Pacific Rim Conservation (PRC), Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, as well as private properties on the north shore of the island. PMRF has been participating in this translocation project since 2005, with the sites varying each year.