A Visual Collaboration between the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association and Rachel Bigsby
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The story of Lord Howe Island is one of resilience, restoration, and return. Rising from the Tasman Sea more than 700 kilometres off Australia’s east coast, this crescent-shaped volcanic island is home to some of the most significant seabird colonies on Earth—an abundance made possible by decades of unwavering conservation commitment. To bring this story to life, the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association invited award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker Rachel Bigsby to spend ten days on the island, creating a documentary and photographic body of work that captures not only its extraordinary seabirds, but the conservation success that allows them to thrive.
The resulting project weaves together cinematic imagery, intimate field observations, and the voices of those who have dedicated their lives to protecting this globally important ecosystem.
“Lord Howe Island is living proof that when threats are removed and protection is taken seriously, wildlife responds with astonishing speed and abundance,” Rachel says. “This was not just about photographing seabirds; it was about telling the story of why they are here in such numbers.”
An Island Defined by Seabirds
From the moment of arrival, seabirds shape every aspect of life on Lord Howe Island. They fill the skies, nest in forest canopies, line open beaches, and return each night under cover of darkness. During her time on the island, Rachel focused on four key species that define its breeding cycle: Sooty Terns, White Terns, Black Noddies, and Flesh-footed Shearwaters. Thunderous colonies of Sooty Terns transform beaches into living mosaics of sound and motion, while the island’s iconic White Terns, pure white and almost luminescent, hover effortlessly between palms, laying single eggs on bare branches with no nests at all. Black Noddies build delicate cup-shaped nests high in trees, linking forest health directly to seabird survival, and at dusk, the air fills with the haunting calls of Flesh-footed Shearwaters returning from long foraging journeys across the Pacific.
“What struck me most was how inseparable the birds are from the island itself. Ocean, forest, geology, and community all move together as one system.”
Ball’s Pyramid: A Seabird Kingdom at Sea
A defining chapter of the assignment unfolded offshore at Ball's Pyramid, the world’s tallest volcanic sea stack. Long a symbol of the island’s wild isolation, the Pyramid rises more than 550 metres from the ocean, an awe-inspiring stronghold surrounded by feeding seabirds. Approaching by boat, the Tasman Sea came alive with motion: shearwaters, noddies, terns, storm petrels, and masked boobies wheeling and diving in perfect rhythm, dolphins cresting the swell, and flying fish scattering across the surface. Photographing Flesh-footed Shearwaters gliding effortlessly along the Pyramid’s sheer rock walls became one of the most powerful moments of the journey.
In the remoteness of the Tasman Sea, where the ocean heaves and breathes without witness, a Flesh-footed Shearwater slips effortlessly through the air. It rides the broken rhythm of the waves, wings skimming the wind as though the sea itself has taught it how to fly. Below, water surges and fractures into white, restless lines; behind, the dark spine of Balls Pyramid, the world's tallest sea stack, rises from the ocean like an eerie monument of a lost world.
Conservation That Changed the Island’s Future
The abundance documented today is the direct result of decisive conservation action. The removal of invasive cats in the 1980s, followed by a landmark rodent eradication programme completed in 2018, transformed the island’s ecological future. During the assignment, Rachel spent time with the island’s biosecurity team and detection dogs, gaining insight into the ongoing vigilance required to keep Lord Howe predator-free. She also met with island ecologist and naturalist Ian Hutton, whose decades of research reveal how closely seabird survival is tied to long-term thinking, community stewardship, and global environmental pressures such as plastic pollution.
The project was supported in part by Nikon Australia, whose equipment enabled Bigsby to work confidently in fast-changing conditions—both on land and at sea.
A Model for Future Storytelling Partnerships
This documentary stands as an example of how destinations can communicate conservation success through authentic, high-end visual storytelling. By inviting an independent wildlife storyteller to work immersively in the field, the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association has created a body of work that speaks equally to travellers, conservationists, and global audiences. For Rachel, the project reinforces the value of long-form, place-based storytelling; work that goes beyond surface beauty to reveal why protection matters.
As the final frames were captured and the calls of Shearwaters continued to echo above the Tasman Sea, one message remained clear: Lord Howe Island’s seabirds are not just a symbol of wilderness; they are the living proof of what conservation, community, and vision can achieve together.
