Today I saw an adult approach a golf course chick. A quick glance though my binoculars and I could tell from the band number that this was the chick’s older sibling, a 5-year old I had named Gaga. I had chosen that name for her when she was a chick because of the artistic arrangement of her new, adult feathers.
When I saw Gaga walking towards her sibling, the sentimental part of me that likes to think that albatrosses are just like us thought, “This is the part where Gaga sits close to the chick, who snuggles in happily next to the older brother or sister, and I will see definitive proof that they can tell who a relative is.”
Take a look at an adorable show of sisterly or brotherly love:
Perhaps they are more like us than we would like to admit.
I do not speak albatross, but I think the last thing the chick said was, “Take a hike!”
My Albatross Diary 
Soooo cute. Thanks! Sorry I missed seeing you this last visit. Gayle and I were by, but just missed your walk.
Prue
Sorry I missed you! Next time, email or call me before you come. I love to show off the birds. Did you see my chick, Kirwan? He is the most photographed chick in Princeville, easily visible from the street. Tell Gayle to let me know the next time she is coming up this way!
Is there any reason to think they know that they are siblings?
If there is a way to know that, I would love to hear it! Even if they do know, is that reason for any emotion like affection between them? Every question results in more. For the last two years, a young albatross has protected chicks that he is totally unrelated to, in an area far from where he grew up. He would chase me away if he thought I was too close. Why? What was in it for him? Birds live in such a different world, we are incredibly lucky to get glimpses into it by observing these large albatrosses that walk among us. It has been a humbling experience.