As part of a regional effort to continue long term Laysan albatross monitoring throughout the main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Rim Conservation in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge co-taught an intensive two day long Laysan albatross biology and banding workshop to help train volunteers and refuge staff how to band these large seabirds. PRC has been monitoring and banding Laysan albatross on Oahu and throughout the main Hawaiian Islands for the last seven years and is excited to ensure that this work continues on all the nesting islands. Over twenty biologists and volunteers on the island of Kauai were instructed in albatross biology and handling/banding techniques. In the end all the Laysan albatross chicks on Kauai’s north shore were accounted for and banded and over 200 birds were re-sighted as part of a long term mark-recapture program initiated by the USFWS and the US Geological Survey. Banding birds with a unique combination of bands allows individuals to be identified so that reproductive success, survival and other demographic parameters can be monitored over multiple years to assist in their conservation. All chicks on Oahu and Kauai should begin fledging at the end of June and will hopefully return as adults 3-5 years from now.
