Viewers watched the first royal albatross egg of the season at Taiaroa Head

People watching the royal albatross camera at Taiaroa Head saw the season's first egg being laid. RNZ reported it on November 4, 2026. The Department of Conservation said the female known as L, who returned to the Pukekura colony in mid-October, used a nest from last season instead of building a new one. Ranger Sharyn Broni said it was the first time viewers had watched a laying, and that she had never heard one this noisy. L and her mate are already trading shifts on the egg. Incubation runs about 79 days. Rangers plan to check in 10 to 12 days whether the egg is fertile.

The Royal Cam, run with Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, draws millions of views a year. Broni called it a way for people to meet toroa, a taonga species, up close. Four more eggs have been laid since Sunday. Chicks from the last breeding season have just finished fledging, and DOC said 38 left the colony, tying a record. Broni, who has done this work for 30 years, remembered seasons with about 10 fledglings and said she hopes the birds will eventually need less hands-on care. The colony is co-managed by Te Poari a Pukekura with Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, the Korako Karetai Trust, and Dunedin City Council, with support from the Otago Peninsula Trust. Chairman Bill Karaitiana said the camera is teaching people the birds' 11-month breeding season. The news is this egg, the four that followed, and last season's 38 chicks. It is not a forecast for every nest still to come.