Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Meet Āwheo! The Northern Royal Albatross star chick offlicially has a name. Watch him preen his growing adult feathers on cam, and watch him live at AllAboutBirds.org/Albatross
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.
Meet Āwheo! The Northern Royal Albatross star chick offlicially has a name. Watch him preen his growing adult feathers on cam, and watch him live at AllAboutBirds.org/Albatross
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.
