Tasmanian Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta)
A brief life history
Coleridge immortalised the Albatross and turned it into a metaphor for man's profligate management of the natural environment. The Tasmanian Shy Albatross is one of more than 20 species spread across 4 genera (Thalassarche, Phoebetria, Diomedea and Phoebastria), but is the only one endemic to Tasmania.
The Tasmanian Shy Albatross nests colonially only on three small islands off the coast of Tasmania: Albatross Island (5,000 pairs), Mewstone (7,500 pairs) and Pedra Branca (250 pairs). They mate for life and lay one egg each year. The adults are essentially sedentary around their breeding sites and Tasmania, whilst the juvenile birds in each year set off on a 3 year peregrination immediately after fledging.
We know that some birds fly as far as South Africa (from ringing returns), but enigmatically birds have also been reported in the North Pacific, off the West Coast of North America. The travels of juvenile Shy Albatrosses therefore remain largely an unsolved mystery.Their annual lifecycle follows a regular pattern:
- August - adults begin their courtship on their breeding islands
- September - eggs laid
- October/November - incubation
- December - eggs hatch
- January and February - young develop
- March - young fledge and begin to depart
- April to July in the 3rd year - at sea
- August - young arrive back on their natal islands