Author Archives: tradewindsla

A couple of days ago the father at our first nest had an unwelcome visitor. And when reasoning seemed to fail…. The visitor was KP729, the female he left for his current mate.  She eventually sat down about four feet … Continue reading →

This year I had a female/female couple nesting in my garden.  Unfortunately. the egg was infertile.  Eventually it somehow ended up out of the nest and broken, and was therefore abandoned. Last year this couple was nesting across the street … Continue reading →

The first chick hatched on Jaunary 21st while the mother, KP792, was on the nest.  I filmed then on January 25th and put it on my last blog entry.  The next day, KP505, the father, took over parental duties. On … Continue reading →

On January 25th, I filmed KP792 with her chick.  You will see her talking to the chick.  In a crowded nesting area like Midway, chicks and parents need to be able to recognize each other’s voices.  In a place like … Continue reading →

Our first Princeville chick hatched a couple of days ago after 3 days of pipping.  Pipping seemed to be going very slowly, then suddenly two days ago he was all the way out, looking like a little drowned rat.  This … Continue reading →

I thought that everyone would want to know how the albatrosses here are doing. All of the Princeville eggs were candled by Dr. Lindsay Young and Dr. Eric VanderWerf of  Pacific Rim Conservation on the evening of December 19th.  “It … Continue reading →

People sometimes ask me why I leave abandoned eggs in the nest.  Yes, it may be a waste of an albatross’s time time to come back and sit on that cold egg again.  But it does seem to be part … Continue reading →

On the north shore of Kaua’i, the Laysan albatrosses nest on the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, which is federal property.   This is a safe, fenced in area with plenty of ocean bluffs with breezes to help the chicks when … Continue reading →

I could not tell you whether some of the albatrosses choose nest sites that have an abundance of building materials available or whether that is of any concern to them at all.  It just seems to work out that a … Continue reading →

So far in Princeville I have seen 91 albatrosses and 15 nests.  I know that I have not seen all of the birds who have returned.  Even checking every day, I am going to miss some.  The long time mates … Continue reading →