2000 Miles from Anywhere...

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

The Many Varied & Awkward Phases of Albatross Puberty (Part 2)

There comes a time in every young albatross' life when they move out of the 'cute chick' phase and enter the 'slightly awkward teenager' phase. In an earlier blog we presented this unfortunate stage in our recently departed Mollys. Now comes the turn of the Sootys, who are only just beginning to fledge from Gough.

Personally, I don't believe that albatross puberty hits the Sootys quite as hard as it does are Mollys, but I'll leave that for you to judge after looking at the photographs below. We're still treated to some excellent hairstyles which I'm sure the birds are only too keen to shed!

Still quite adorable (David Kinchin-Smith)

Getting attitude (David Kinchin-Smith)

Getting fatter (David Kinchin-Smith)

Imperious (David Kinchin-Smith)

Confused (David Kinchin-Smith)

Prepare yourself for the next 3......

Awkward (David Kinchin-Smith)

Alarming (Em Witcutt)

Gandalf! (David Kinchin-Smith)

Fortunately, this difficult stage is over for many of Gough's Sootys. We're still waiting on our first fledgling from the study colony but the chicks are getting close; there is much flapping of wings to help them build up the muscles that they'll need to take that leap of faith and sore out to sea! The penultimate image is the stage that many of the birds are at now, with just a few wisps of a receding hair line and beard remaining. The final image is what our birds can look forward to in a few years time, because adults look magnificent!

Relief! (David Kinchin-Smith)

To strange people like us....perfection (David Kinchin-Smith)

David

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

The other invasive species....

A distinct lack of Albatrosses today... we thought it was about time for us to write about the other, none-birdy side of our work. There is an invasive plant called Sagina procumbens on the island, and there has been a project underway since 2000 to eradicate it.

A Sagina plant (David Kinchin-Smith)

An infested area of bare earth (David Kinchin-Smith)

On the mainland Sagina is a small, harmless looking weed but if it gains a foothold on remote islands it can take over, forming dense mats through which nothing else can grow. It can fundamentally and irreversibly change the biology of island ecosystems, so is potentially a huge threat to the rare wildlife that calls Gough home. Because of this, a large chunk of our time is spent spraying this insignificant looking plant with herbicide in the hope of banishing it from this island. Its distribution has been limited to a 400m stretch of coastline close to our base, but we are still hoping to completely eradicate it. The area is divided into foot zones and rope drop areas, which we access by abseiling down onto the sea cliffs.

One of the most exciting parts of our job- abseiling down sea-cliffs on the hunt for Sagina (David Kinchin-Smith)

Snoekgat (Em Witcutt)

Snoekgat- the worst affected foot zone (Em Witcutt)

Looking back towards Snoekgat after a day of spraying (Em Witcutt)

It's not all about removing plants with herbicide, we also have measures in place to prevent the spread of Sagina to other areas of the island. It can be carried on shoes and clothing, so we limit visits to infested areas for the whole team, and anyone visiting a Sagina zone has to wear specific clothing that is then never worn in any other part of the island. Newcomers to the island attend a 'boot washing ceremony' on the boat to prevent more seeds being brought here from elsewhere. We also have salt water foot baths at every entrance to the Base to be used by anyone staying on the island. Hopefully our efforts will pay off, and we’ll leave this island with a little less of this troublesome plant than there was when we arrived!

Em

Sunday, 16 April 2017

Easter EGGstravaganza!!

Celebrating new life this season on Gough........Happy Easter!!!!

David & Em

Gony egg....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chick (David Kinchin-Smith)

Antarctic Tern egg....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chick (Em Witcutt)

Molly egg....(Em Witcutt)

....and chick (Em Witcutt)

Prion egg....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chick (David Kinchin-Smith)

Sooty egg....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chick (David Kinchin-Smith)

Rockhopper eggs....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chicks (David Kinchin-Smith)

Skua eggs....(David Kinchin-Smith)

....and chick (David Kinchin-Smith)

Saturday, 15 April 2017

The Mountains in the Sea

Apart from maybe a few stray penguins in a couple of the photos, this blog is not about Gough's birds. Instead, we're focusing on the spectacular scenery of the island. As the new conservation team is currently being appointed, we thought this blog could be their first orientation about the island, and it will hopefully convey how stunning it really is!

What follows are photographs taken from various points all around the island and a brief description of each place. It is also well worth a look at Chris' blog from the Gough 61 team, for a video showing the Base we call home (http://chrisongough.blogspot.co.za/2016/05/gough-island-base-video-tour.html), as well as a whole load of photos in other posts of all things wonderful and Gough.

The map below has numbers which should hopefully correspond to the photo locations.

Gough Island with photo locations (Gough archive)

Photo 1 - Our Jurassic Park welcome sign which greets you off the helicopter up at the helipad.

Photo 2 - Taken from outside the front door of Base, looking towards Gonydale (see later pictures). We get some spectacular sunsets out here and the best starry nights I've ever seen!

Photo 3 - Richmond Hill is the site of one of our Molly census areas and also close to 2 of our Sooty census counts. It isn't the biggest hill but with no path it is horrendous to climb, with burrows everywhere and dense vegetation. Fortunately it is only visited a handful of times throughout the year.

Photos 4, 5 & 6 - Swemgat is about 20 minutes walk from Base. It's a beautiful spot, generally where you fill up water bottles before starting the climb to Gonydale, and the pool at the foot of the waterfall is a perfect place to swim on hot days.

Photo 7 - Admiral's can only be accessed with full rope access gear. It's well worth the abseil for the scenery, and large numbers of penguins and seals. It's one of our Rockhopper census areas, so we visit in October for an incubation count, November for a hatching count and January for a fledgling count.

Photo 8 - About 30-45 minutes from Base, Tumbledown is visited fairly regularly throughout the year. It is another Rockhopper census area, where we weigh Fur Seal pups on a monthly basis and the cliffs are home to some of the monitoring colony of Sooty albatrosses.

Photo 9 - The infamous path to Gonydale. the distance between Gonydale and Base is only a few kms, but the thick vegetation uphill ascent and muddy path make it a fairly tough walk. When you first arrive on the island, before getting used to island walking, it takes about 3 hours; after a few months you'll do it in 2.

Photos 10 & 11 - The amazing Gonydale! Home to the monitoring colony of Tristan Albatrosses of between 150-170 pairs. And also the study colony of Grey Petrels. Gonydale is the main camping spot on the island, and we sleep there on a fairly regular basis. It is also an ideal stop off point before continuing to see the Giant Petrels at Low Hump (see later pictures) or traversing the Rowetts on the way to Waterfall Camp and the North of the island.

Photo 12 & 13 - Tafelkop is separated from Gonydale by a ridge line whose highest point is South Peak at 2493 ft. It is also home to a small colony of Tristans (10-20 pairs) which is monitored with the Gonydale colony. Generally, one member of the team will walk to Gonydale via this route to monitor the few pairs of Gonys before the punishing climb up South Peak and descent to Gonydale.

Photo 14 - Looking towards the North of the island after late winter snowfall. This is a view you get when contouring the Rowetts before descending to Low Hump to monitor the Giant Petrels. Albatross Plain is a Tristan albatross census area which is counted from various points on the Rowett ridge. It can be home to over 300 pairs so is very aptly named! The snowy peak almost in the centre of the picture is Edinburgh Peak which is the highest point of the island at 910m (2986 ft).

Photo 15 - Saddle Island is viewed from the Giant Petrel monitoring colony at Low Hump. Low Hump is home to between 100-200 pairs, and this stretch of coastline is very Jurassic Parky, with the GPs being Gough's very own dinosaurs!

Photo 16 - Whilst climbing up the Rowetts to walk the ridge line, you're rewarded with this view of Hag's Tooth (2270 ft) and the valley leading down to the Glen. The Glen is the site of the old Base on the island and can be reached by a very challenging walk along Disney Ridge (which we plan to do later in the season because The Glen is supposed to be very beautiful).

Photo 17 - Serengeti Plain is another area with stunning views looking across to The Glen, but is a real pain to walk to for standard Gough reasons. Is is another Molly census area and at the bottom of the Plain is Haularound Point which is another Sooty census count.

Photo 18 - Spire Crag is on the West side of the island almost exactly in the middle. It is another busy Tristan Albatross census area home to some 100-200 pairs, and some very interesting rock formations. It is only visited twice a year for the incubation and large chick counts.

Photo 19 - Triple Peak is in the far North of the island and another Tristan census area visited twice a year. The small red arrow is pointing at me to give some perspective of the size of the peak.

Photo 20 - And finally, looking South from the highest point of the island, Edinburgh Peak. Waterfall Camp, the other campsite in the middle of the island, sits at the foot of the mountain. It's just a shame the cloud was quite low on the day I took this photo!