The Royal Albatross family on Dunedin's Tairoa Head, watched by more than 180,000 people around the world, has been reunited after an anxious month.
The family on Tairoa Head, Dunedin. Photo: Screenshot / Royal Cam
The father to this year's Royal Cam chick had been missing in action for a month, an unusually long time. He returned yesterday afternoon but has a worrying leg injury.
The family's international following posted messages that showed hopes for the devoted father, OGK, were fading after such a long absence.
Among the Royal Cam devotees is RNZ's arts reporter Lynn Freeman, who has been talking to DOC about the Royal Cam drama.
Listen to Lynn Freeman's interview with RNZ Afternoons' Jesse Mulligan
Since 2015 a pair of Northern Albatross parents have been chosen as the Royal Couple and have had a camera perched a few metres away from their nest. The camera stays in place until the chick fledges in September, by this time they're about eight months old.
This year a flash new camera system was installed by an overseas company Cornell Lab, which has live cams on birds' nests around the world. Infrared now means that viewers can watch the nest through the night for the first time. Being part of Cornell Lab has also brought tens of thousands more people to the Royal Cam.
DOC said that over the past month alone there had been more than 186,500 views on the Royal Cam live stream, compared to 87,300 views from this time last year.
Those who watched the chick's progress from egg to fledgling got very personally invested in the family - there is an online conversation that you can join in. It's very active.
So, here's what unfolded yesterday in front of the camera and a hugely relieved audience.
The male albatross, his bands are OGK, has been a particularly loveable parent. For such a large bird he's always been very gentle with his chick, spent time sitting with her, preening and guarding her. He's also been a good provider. So when several weeks passed without him being seen on camera, we knew something catastrophic must have happened to keep him away from his chick.
Chicks need regular feeds from both parents as they are growing fast and need to pile on weight before winter hits.
On Monday afternoon we heard Pippa, that's her nickname until she gets her formal name later in the year, call and saw OGK fly in. He landed off camera and limped heavily into view, sitting for a while, then walking towards the chick who was begging for food as they do, and sitting again. When he got to the chick, he fed her, the first time for a month. He sat with her for a while and then limped off out of view.
DOC says that while its work with Northern Royal Albatross has been on hold during the Covid-19 restrictions, rangers have been monitoring the colony remotely. Concerned by OGK's injury, a ranger was approved to visit the colony to ensure his safety.
The ranger searched the headland but it appears OGK has flown out to sea again. DoC will continue to remotely monitor the colony and OGK's condition when he next returns.
DOC says there is no way of knowing how OGK has become injured while he was flying at sea over the past four weeks. They hope the leg injury may be superficial and says that it's not unheard of for leg injuries to mend naturally on their own.
It's not unheard of for a chick at Taiaroa Head to lose a parent. They have to travel far to gather enough food for them and their chick and this opens them up to risks from fishing boats and natural predators.
The chick faces threats too. They are often bullied by juvenile albatross who are looking for partners or just have nothing better to do.
But what the 24/7 Cornell Lab camera has exposed is what happens through the night. This year's chick had a feral cat come right up to it a few weeks ago, then leave. That cat was trapped within days. Another feral cat dashed across the screen in the last few days. At this stage hopefully the chicks are too big and well-armed with their long, strong beaks to be vulnerable.
On a happier note, we've also seen a little owl (literally a little owl, not a ruru/morepork) near the chick's nest recently and a harrier hawk. Herons, welcome swallows and seagulls are among other visitors.
So now, 185,000 of us will watch, and await OGK's return.