Corella,2003, 27(t): 20-21 FIRSTRECORD OF COMMONDIVING Pelecanoides urinatrix BREEDINGON ALBATROSSISLAND

ALAN WILTSHIRE

lli3 Walerworks Road, Dynnyme, 7005

Recei,ed:1l February2002

INTRODUCTION The next visit to Island was on 17 December Albatross Island is situated in western Bass Strait 2001. This was approximately 70 days since the estimated betweenHunter and King Islands.The island is best known hatching date for two of the eggs. The average nestling for its breedingpopulation of Shy AlbatrossesThalassarche period for Common Diving Petrels is 53 days (Marchant cor.rc, of which there are curently 5 000 breeding pairs and Higgins 1990). Therefore any chicks that suryived to (Brotherse, al.200l). AlbatrossIsland has been visited fledging would have already departed the island. annually by Department of Primary Industries, Water and There is an estimated 30-50 000 pairs of Fairy Prions Environment stafT since 1981 to conduct research Pachyptila turtw breeding on Albatross Island as well as and albatrosspopulation monitoring. Low numbers of 350 pairs of Little Penguins Eudyptula minor and 1 120 Common Diving Petrels Pelecanoidesurinatrix have been pairs of Sho -tailed Shearwaters Pu|fi.nus tenuirostris heard calling in flight and from burrows on Albatross (Brotherc e/ al.2OOI). It is possible that low numbers of Island but there have been no records of breeding. diving petrels have been breeding on Albatross Island for The remains of severaldiving petrels have also been found population on the island(Green 1973;Brothers and Davis l985). sometimebut, due to the large of Fairy Prions and other ,have remained undetected. METHODS The closest known breeding population of Common DurinB June, Scprcmber and October 2001. surveys were conducred Diving Petrelsis on SteepIsland which is approximately on the norrhern end of Albatross Island to try and locate any diving 20 kilometresto the south of AlbatrossIsland. There are petrels on the ground and record any aerial activity. A torch was uscd an estimated 23 25 00O breeding pairs of Common after dusk 1o locate any birds on the surface. Mos! survey work was conducted by listening from vantage poinls for any birds calling from Diving Petrels on Steep Island and no record of Fairy the air or ground. Any burrows that were suspected to contain diving Prions breeding.It is possiblethat the small population petrels were inspected and their contents recorded. of diving petrels on Albatross Island may be an overflcw from Steep Island and they have not been able to increase RESULTS AND DISCUSSION due to direct competition for burrowing habitat with Fairy On 23 June 2001 one pair and two single Common Prions.The habitatthat the diving petrelswere using on Diving Petrels were located in burrows amongst a flat area Albatross Island was not suitable for shearwatersor of tussock grass Poa poiformis at the northern end of penguins, as the soil depth was too shallow. However, the Albatross Island. All four birds had fully featheredbrood habitat is the same as that used by many Fairy Prions. patchesand no eggs were present in the burrows. Between Common Diving Petrelsbegin laying in August whereas lE Septemberand 9 October 2001 four diving nests, Fairy Prions begin laying in October (Marchant and each with a single egg, were located on the northem end Higgins 1990). Therefore,Common Diving Petrelsmay of the island. The details of each of the four nests are possibly be forced from their burrows when the prions shownin Table 1. startbreedins.

TABLE 1 Common rest contents and description of habitat.

Nest No. Nest contents Descriptionof habitat l8/9/01 Adult on €gg Steep rocky area. Vegebtion - Rounded noon-flower (Dkphlna crcssifoliun) 9/10/01 Adult with srnall chick (approx. 2 days old) 2't/9/01 Adult on egg Sloping area close to cliff edge. Vegetation - Ttrssock (Poa poifornk) 6 Ot0l Adult on egg Steep rock crack. Short burrow. Vegetatioo - single tussock. 9/10/01 Pair of adults wilh small chick (approx. 2 days old) 9/10/01 Adult on egg Flat area. Vegetation - tussock March,2003 A. Wiltshire:Common Diving Petrelson Albatross lsland largeresident populations of Brothers(1981) recordedthe establishmentand demise unsuccessfulwhen thereare of a population of White-faced Storm Petrels Pelagodroma otherseabirds. marina on Fisher Island in easternBass Strait. On Fisher Island, storm petrels were presentin 1973 but no eggswere ACKNOWLEDGMENTS laid. ln 197,1,six chickspossibly fledged and in 1975'64 Thanksto SherylHamilton for commentson a draftof this sho( noe eggswere laid but no chicks survivedto fledging.During This work was done while on Albatrosslsland as a volunteerfor the water 1076, storm petrels were present but no eggs were found NatureConservation Branch. Department of PrimaryIndustries, and during the 1977 season.no srorm petrelswere and Environment. recorded.Brothers concluded that lhe storm-petrelscame REFERENCES to Fisher Island from neighbouring colonies that had reachedsaturation point. The possible causesof failure and Brothers,N. (1981).Observations of BreedingSuccess in white_faced total desertion were direct competition for burrowing Storm-petrelat a newly eslablishedcolony Corclla5t 29-33 Davis,G. (1985). observationson Albatross habitat with Short-tailed Shearwaters,possible interference Brothers,N. and lsland, l98l to1985. Tartnnian Bid Report141 3-9 by Silver Gulls lanrs novaehollandiae and by D., Pryor, H- and Halley, V (2001) Brothers, N.. Pemberton. ' Water Rats Hydromys chrlsoguster and Black Rats RattlJ 'Tasmania'sOffshore Islandsl seabirds atrd olher Datural features Pp rattus. 8G-83.(Thsmanian Museum and Art Gallery,Hobart, Tasmania.) Green,R. H. (1973).Albatross Island, Tas$ania AlrI Bird Bander11: It is possiblethal a similar situattonis occurringon 8l 83. 'Handbook Albatross Island and that from time to time seabirds Marchant,S. M. and Hi88ins.P J. (1990). of Australian, (Oxford attempt to establish new colonies on nearby islands.These New Zealandand AntarcticBirds. Volume l' Pp ?24-735 UniversityPress: Melboume.) breedingattempts may generallygo undetectedand the establishmentof a new and viable population may be