The fragility of the natural world was fully evident yesterday as the second northern royal albatross chick of the season kicked itself clear of its egg at Taiaroa Head.
The hatching yesterday morning came after the first chick of what is predicted to be a challenging breeding season hatched the day before.
The Otago Daily Times, at Taiaroa Head to photograph the first chick, witnessed some of the first moments after the second chick broke free.
The delicate chick faltered as it wriggled itself from its freshly cracked egg while making hushed chirping sounds.
Instead of meeting its nesting father, the still wet chick was surrounded by the inside of an incubator, given the name "mother''.
Taiaroa Head Department of Conservation (Doc) ranger Lyndon Perriman said the incubator helped protect eggs and newly hatched chicks from potentially deadly fly-strike, now the "single biggest threat''.
The hot and dry El Nino conditions heightened the risk of devastating fire, fly-strike and overheating and was expected to make for an especially challenging season.
Doc and the Otago Peninsula Trust were working together to increase the chances of chick survival, including innovative solutions for keeping flies away.
As in previous years, peppermint essence tubes were being used to mask the smell of the chicks which attracted flies, and for the first time lavender toilet cleaner was being used in bottles close to the nest.
"Lavender is something that flies don't like the smell of,'' Mr Perriman said.
Sprinklers were also being used to keep adult albatrosses and chicks cool on hot days.
If all 29 fertile eggs this season hatched and chicks fledged, that would be a record, Mr Perriman said.
But it was "very early days''.
Taiaroa Head's red-billed gull colony was also having an "extremely'' good season for fledgling chicks.
Red-billed gulls were more threatened than the northern royal albatross after steep population declines in other parts of the country.
Otago Peninsula Trust general manager Robyn McDonald said the extra work was also putting pressure on the trust.
"So the trust has set up a Givealittle fundraiser to help with extra costs such as trucking in water for the colony's sprinkler system to keep albatross and chicks cool on blistering hot days.''
