Quick Stop at the Petrel Station
/In one little corner of western New Zealand, a rather unusual thing happens every night. Here's a peek into the nocturnal world of the Westland petrel.
World Seabird Twitter Conference!
/I'm presenting on #WSTC4 in a moment! Currently on a Fulbright-NatGeo Storytelling Fellowship in NZ, making art & stories about efforts to save seabirds in the Seabird Capital of the World. Living in a tent, roaming the coast, catching boats to islands... https://t.co/5veeeZnDcg pic.twitter.com/eUAif6goS0
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018
1/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 On a recent adventure for my @NatGeo fellowship, I abseiled down a 70-meter seacliff near Dunedin. There scientists are monitoring a hidden colony of fairy prions, elsewhere driven off the mainland by invasive mammals. @Forest_and_Bird https://t.co/aknuNb0LCg pic.twitter.com/GlKUn8GJbe
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018
2/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 On another expedition, I voyaged across turbulent seas to the subantarctic Auckland Islands, to help wrangle population estimates for yellow-eyed penguins in their last stronghold. @docgovtnz https://t.co/fJ4LaKbQWx pic.twitter.com/Vtg0cTqDIj
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018
3/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 While exploring the effects of fisheries on seabirds in the Hauraki Gulf, I found myself inside a cyclone of hungry tubenoses, which appear to rely on the feeding frenzies of big fish schools to bring krill meals to the surface. @NNZST https://t.co/EUmfhMEOd4 pic.twitter.com/5L5wMEgmtl
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018
4/4 #WSTC4 #ConsBio3 Another adventure involved staying up night after night in the rain on Little Barrier Island—where New Zealand storm petrels were recently found nesting after being thought extinct for the entire 20th century. @NNZST @aucklandmuseum https://t.co/P0svJh0YZg pic.twitter.com/aUsO2zDsCu
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018
With this @NatGeoExplorers @FulbrightPrgrm project I hope to convey the beauty and value of seabirds, draw attention to their global decline, and highlight inspiring examples of conservation. https://t.co/qByu1esLXS (📷 @edinatw) @FulbrightNZ @usembassynz #WSTC4 pic.twitter.com/ccdlxPpR5g
— Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) April 19, 2018