seabirds Archives

Wisdom the Albatross Has Hatched a New Chick!

March 3, 2019 Cherilyn Chin Seabirds

Hello, I’m Wisdom, a Laysan Albatross. I have exciting news! My chick has just hatched after about 2 months of incubation. My life partner, Akeakamai, and I have alternated sitting on the egg and feeding out at sea.

The average Laysan Albatross lives 50 years-I’m an exception as I’m at least 68 years old. I’m the oldest known wild bird! I was banded back in 1956 and estimated to be 5-6 years old since that’s when albatross start to lay eggs.

We, all 1 million albatross (of many species) lay our eggs and raise our chicks on Midway Atoll, just Northwest of Hawaii in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. It is a beautiful place that consists of two flat sandy islands of 2.5 square miles, turquoise water and a stunning coral reef. Up to 3 million seabirds lay eggs and raise their chicks there.

The biologist, Chandler Robbins, that originally banded me in 1956 later me found me in 2002, 46 years later! I have been returning to my birthplace to make a nest ever since. The biologists first noticed me making a nest with Akeakamai in 2006.

Most albatross don’t lay eggs every year– I guess that also makes me an exception as I have laid an egg every year! I may have raised up to 36 chicks in my 68 years of life, but who’s counting?

We can travel up to 10,000 miles just in search of food like squid and fish eggs, fish and crustaceans that are found on the top of the ocean.

We spend 90% of our lives at sea, only stopping to rest on the ocean waves.
I’ve clocked at least 6 million miles of flying.

Biologists found a chick I raised in 2001 nesting just feet from me in 2017. I wish I could recognize my former chicks, but they grow up so fast that I can’t recognize them as adults.

After about 5-6 months, my new chick will fledge and head out to sea to find food, living as I have for the past 68 years.

Note: Plastics and microplastics have become a huge problem in the world’s oceans. Birds like Wisdom ingest plastic and pass it on to their chicks when they feed them, but don’t know that they are doing so. Albatross like Wisdom have been found with bellies full of plastic, many dying from that. See previous post, “Alby the Albatross and Plastic, Plastic Everywhere in the Ocean”

The blue footed what? The blue footed booby is a marine bird.

Don’t miss the blue footed booby bird mating dance video link below!

Here are 10 Fabulous Facts About the Blue Footed Booby Bird:

1. The male shows off his blue feet to the female when courting her. The bluer the feet, the more attractive he is to his potential mate.

2. The courtship dance by the male is very elaborate. Word don’t do it justice so here’s a a video on blue footed booby mating dance

3. The blue footed booby is 32-34 inches (81-86cm) high with a wingspan of 5 feet (1.5m). It weighs 3.25 pounds (1.5kg).

4. Blue footed boobies are expert hunters at sea. They will often dive from 80 feet high to catch fish underwater. They can also dive from a sitting position.

5. Both parents care for their chicks. They usually have 1-3 chicks at a time. A parent will cover their chick with their webbed feet to keep them warm.

6. Nestlings that are bullied go on to live happy and productive lives (they are easy to study because they have no natural predators and humans have never hunted them).

7. Blue footed boobies live off the west coasts of Central and South America, with half the breeding pairs living in the Galapagos Islands.

8. Young blue footed boobies have darker blue feet.

9. Their name is thought to come from the Spanish word “bobo” which means “stupid” or “clown.” They may look clumsy on land, but they far from stupid (maybe a bit bird-brained though).

10. Most blue footed boobies will live and breed within dozens of feet of where they were born.

Facts from National Geographic page on Blue Footed Boobies

Good article on Blue-Footed Boobies by the New York Times