The large cave on the side of Te Tara Koi Koia shelters the eggs and chicks of Chatham albatrosses until the young are ready to fly. The island is the only place in the world where they breed naturally, making Thomas one of the privileged few to have witnessed and captured this moment.

Having a single breeding ground means that the future of Chatham albatrosses is insecure. Since the 1980s extreme storms have eroded the soil on Te Tara Koi Koia and destroyed vegetation crucial to nest-building. Conservationists recently translocated a new breeding colony onto the largest of the Chatham Islands to improve their chance of survival.