Summary
South Georgia (540S; 380W) lies 350 km south of the Polar Front in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. It is a key global location for albatrosses: at the last all-island census in 1986, it was estimated that approximately 92,500 pairs of grey-headed albatrosses (most important global site), 101,500 pairs of black-browed albatrosses (third most important site after the Falkland Islands and Chile), and 4,000 pairs of wandering albatrosses breed here (Croxall et al 1997; G. Robertson pers. comm.). These three species breed at approximately 40 sites scattered around the mainland coastline and offshore islands of South Georgia. All wandering albatross breeding sites were ground surveyed in January 2004, and the total annual breeding population was calculated to be 1,557 pairs, a decline of 29.6% or 1.41% p.a. since 1984. All black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses were censused in a 2 week period in November-December 2003 using high-resolution digital photographic images obtained principally from a yacht-based platform. Data were archived in the form of 3,500 digital images (9.8 gigabytes), which were computer-enhanced using photo-editing software prior to on-screen counting, with subsequent application of correction factors derived from ground censuses of selected colonies at Bird Island, South Georgia. Final population estimates for black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses are scheduled for late August 2004, and will have required a total of 25 weeks archiving and analysis.