In November, Royal Albatross pairs begin the breeding season by laying a single egg in their nests at the Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve.

The 2021–22 season featured parents OGK (male) and YRK (female) at the Quarry Track nest site, where they began by switching off incubation duties. Rangers from the New Zealand Department of Conservation checked on the nest regularly to make sure the egg was developing as expected.

In late January, the egg was transported to an incubator to remove any risk of fly strike (infestation of fly larvae) during the multiday hatching process. The real egg was swapped for a fake to ensure that the parents continued incubating until the hatched chick could be returned. Once hatched, the chick was reunited with its parent, and the adult immediately assumed care for their dayold hatchling. This vital conservation measure has greatly improved nesting success for these endangered albatross across the headland.

Once reunited, the attending parent began feeding the chick regurgitated food that'd been saved since the last foraging trip. After celebrating the hatch, the adults continued to take turns foraging at sea while the other protected and fed the youngster.

DNA testing determined that the fluffy chick was a female, and she was later named Lilibet in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.

The neighborhood social club of young adults and nonbreeders stopped by for visits, but they were warned to keep their distance.

At five weeks, the chick was old enough to stay on the nest alone, and both parents set out to sea, only returning to feed their chick.

OGK and YRK fueled the nestling's growth by returning every few days with meals of fish, squid, and stomach oil for Lilibet.

In May, OGK stopped returning to his nest. When a parent goes missing, rangers provide supplemental food to aid in the chick's development. YRK continued to feed her chick for months after OGK's disappearance. Thanks to her mother's diligence, and the extra nourishment supplied by the rangers, Lilibet continued on a healthy path towards fledging.

Come July, the young albatross started building her flight muscles by holding out her giant wings against the blustering winds.

Nestlings may even begin practicing breeding displays with other chicks they meet on the headland.

After seven months, Lilibet was ready to hit the open ocean on September 3. At 220 days old, she was the first chick to fledge from the colony in 2022. After fledging, Royal Albatross will spend 4–10 years at sea before returning to the colony in New Zealand to find a mate. We're wishing all the best to Lilibet on her journey. Thanks to everyone who watched and learned along with us this season!



RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation and the Cornell Lab has been collaborating with DOC since 2019 to bring the cam to life. To learn more while watching, view the cam at

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native...

or at

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/albatross

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Royal Cam is a 24hour live stream of a Northern Royal Albatross nest during the breeding season at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the southeast tip of New Zealand's South Island.

This season (2022–23) we are watching a male, GLY (named for his colored leg bands: Green, Lime, Yellow) and female, L (Lime). The fertile egg was laid on the November 4, 2022.

  / royalbatrosscam  

to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another actionpacked season on New Zealand’s South Island.

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