Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Meet Āwheo the Northern Royal Albatross! Watch him preen his growing adult feathers on cam.
More than 500 people submitted name suggestions this year for the Royal Albatross chick and the results are in!
From our partners at the New Zealand Department of Conservation:
We worked with Te Poāri a Pukekura, the co-management trust at the headland, to select the winning name: Āwheo meaning 'halo' – a ring of light around the moon or sun. Naming the chick Āwheo suits habitat restoration because it speaks of protection and renewal: light returning after storms, like ecosystems recovering when we remove plastic, restore nests and coastlines, and change habits.
For royal albatross, that 'halo' is healthy sea and land – clean feeding grounds and safe breeding sites. Whakataukī: "Toitū te marae a Tāne, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te iwi" (when land and sea endure, people endure). Āwheo reminds us to be kaitiaki for their home, now and for generations. It calls us to restore taiao, together.
#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
doc.govt.nz/royalcam
or at
allaboutbirds.org/albatross
*******************************
Royal Cam is a 24-hour 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.
The 2025–26 season features an established pair at the Plateau nest site: 11-year-old male WYL (named for his leg bands—White, Yellow, Lime) and 12-year-old female BOK (Blue, Orange, blacK). This duo has been breeding together since 2022, but this is their first season as the featured pair on the Royal Cam. Their initial breeding attempt was unsuccessful; however, their second attempt produced a male chick that successfully fledged in 2024. This year’s fertile egg was laid on November 6, 2025.
Follow the cam at https://x.com/RoyAlbatrossCam
to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another action-packed season on New Zealand’s South Island.
#birdcams #live #albatross #birds #wildlife #nature #nowplaying #newzealand #endangeredspecies
Meet Āwheo the Northern Royal Albatross! Watch him preen his growing adult feathers on cam.
More than 500 people submitted name suggestions this year for the Royal Albatross chick and the results are in!
From our partners at the New Zealand Department of Conservation:
We worked with Te Poāri a Pukekura, the co-management trust at the headland, to select the winning name: Āwheo meaning 'halo' – a ring of light around the moon or sun. Naming the chick Āwheo suits habitat restoration because it speaks of protection and renewal: light returning after storms, like ecosystems recovering when we remove plastic, restore nests and coastlines, and change habits.
For royal albatross, that 'halo' is healthy sea and land – clean feeding grounds and safe breeding sites. Whakataukī: "Toitū te marae a Tāne, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te iwi" (when land and sea endure, people endure). Āwheo reminds us to be kaitiaki for their home, now and for generations. It calls us to restore taiao, together.
#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
doc.govt.nz/royalcam
or at
allaboutbirds.org/albatross
*******************************
Royal Cam is a 24-hour 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.
The 2025–26 season features an established pair at the Plateau nest site: 11-year-old male WYL (named for his leg bands—White, Yellow, Lime) and 12-year-old female BOK (Blue, Orange, blacK). This duo has been breeding together since 2022, but this is their first season as the featured pair on the Royal Cam. Their initial breeding attempt was unsuccessful; however, their second attempt produced a male chick that successfully fledged in 2024. This year’s fertile egg was laid on November 6, 2025.
Follow the cam at https://x.com/RoyAlbatrossCam
to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another action-packed season on New Zealand’s South Island.
#birdcams #live #albatross #birds #wildlife #nature #nowplaying #newzealand #endangeredspecies
