Albatross Breeding Season Draws to a Close

Every year around mid-July comes a bittersweet time for our family farm. The Laysan albatross chicks, who we’ve watched grow from egg to awkward fledgling, will soon be taking off on a 3000 mile journey.

The albatross have made their nesting grounds on our land since long before we arrived in 1982. Every year, adolescent and adult Laysan albatross return to the place they were born to gather together, engage in courtship, and mate.

They’re an important part of our farm, reminding us of the power of home and family, the rewards of perseverance, and the ability of nature to design amazing things. We’re lucky enough to have two of nature’s gems, Laysan albatross and Noni fruit, in abundance on our land.

From Birthplace . . .

This batch of Laysan albatross hatched in late January, one egg to each pair of albatross. After their egg hatches, both the male and the female fly back and forth to the cold, rich waters off the coast of Alaska.

They eat and partially digest squid, fish, and other prey near the surface, and fly home to the chick. The chick eats the regurgitated stomach oil.

By the time mid-July comes around, the chicks have grown from 7 ounce balls of fluff to 4-5 lb juveniles. Their feathers have mostly changed from fluffy grey baby down to the black and white feathers of adults, although there are usually still some silly-looking tufts of grey feathers. This means they’re ready to fly.

Soon, this year’s chicks—including your favorite, Blossom—will take flight and begin their 3000 mile journey. At least one of the parents of each chick will return to Kauai for the last time this season. They’ll spend the day grooming their chick, getting all ready for the big takeoff. Then, when the Trade winds are high, the chicks will take off into the wind and start the voyage.

Their destination? The cold, squid-filled waters off the coast of Alaska.

Read the full version to learn about the journey to the Coast of Alaska

. . . and Back Again

No one is sure how these remarkable birds find their way home after so many years at sea, but every year near the start of winter, familiar breeding pairs return to the island. About a month later, they are joined by a number of juveniles who are ready to start looking for a mate.

Their accuracy is amazing. There’s another colony of Laysan albatross just a few miles north of us at Kilauea point, but these birds come back to our land, where they were born.

The juveniles watch the adults, and start slowly choosing mate. They mate for life, so it’s a very important decision! So far, the colony on our land has 19 breeding pairs, and the number is increasing all the time.

When the juveniles are about 7 years old, they return with the other breeding pairs and start mating for life. The whole cycle begins anew each season, and we feel so privileged to be witnesses to it.

We’ll keep you updated on the chicks—especially Blossom—and let you know when they start their journeys northward. We should still have a few weeks with them, and we plan to treasure every opportunity to appreciate these amazing creatures.

Protecting & Preserving Our Friends the Albatross

As you’re no doubt aware if you follow us on social media, our family farm on Kauai is host to a growing albatross colony. Each year, these birds return to our land for the mating season. They’re a very special part of the culture on the farm, reminding us of the importance of family and bringing us lots of joy!

Unfortunately, albatross are birds at risk of extinction, especially if their habitat continues to be destroyed by global climate change! Laysan albatross, the specific species that nests on our farm, have recovered in recent years, changing their endangered status from “vulnerable” to “near-threatened.”

This is extremely encouraging, but there’s a long way to go before these and other albatross species are truly “safe.” Preserving nature’s diversity is a major part of sustainability, and is extremely important to our family so we wanted to give you a little more information about these rare birds.

Risks to the Albatross

Albatross were once hunted for feathers, with the result that many hundreds of thousands were killed in the early 1900s. Today, these albatross are protected on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. But they aren’t out of danger yet.

Albatross are seabirds, which means anything that impacts the ocean impacts them, too. That includes changing temperatures, fish populations, pollution, and fishing techniques used by humans.

In particular, longline fishing and the ingestion of floating plastics kill many birds. Albatross hunt by floating on the top of the water and diving down to grab fish and squid. It’s very easy for them to grab something dangerous by mistake. Parents may even bring home trash to their chicks, mistaking it for food. This has devastating consequences for the health of the chick.

On Midway Atoll in the Pacific, thousands of albatross chicks die each year due to poisoning from plastics, lead, and other human waste.

Learn about the Albatross on Our Family Farm in the original article!

What We Can Learn About Sustainability

We’ve had our lives dramatically enriched by the presence of the albatross on our farm, and doing all we can to raise awareness about them and protect their habitat has been extremely rewarding for us. Watching the colony grow each year has become so special to us.

Even if you don’t have an amazing species like the Laysan albatross living on your land, you’re surrounded by endangered species that need your help. In particular, think about your local pollinators. Honeybee populations are in bad shape these days, and they can be helped out a lot just by suburban gardeners planting more flowers and plants they like.

Anytime you take action to preserve habitat, whether by building it, protecting it, or voting to protect it, you’re doing your part to help this planet’s endangered species.

How do you protect nature’s diversity in your life? Let us know in the comments!

The Albatross Return!

We’re very excited to announce that the first of the Laysan albatross that make their home on our organic family farm on Kauai have returned! Every year, my family and I watch for these first brave travelers to return. Soon, they’ll start nesting!

For now, these albatross are still recovering from their 3000 mile journey from Alaska! These adults will soon be joined by many others, and eventually a number of juveniles who are ready to start looking for a mate. This means we’ll be on the lookout for any previous years’ chicks that we can identify!

The juveniles will watch the adults and start choosing a mate. New breeding pairs will often take a season or two to “practice” playing house, before their first successful breeding season, usually when the birds are about 7 years old.

Last year, we had 19 breeding pairs in our colony, and we’re hoping to see a few new pairs this year!

Name That Chick Contest

The return of the albatross means that something exciting is on the horizon: the annual Name That Chick Contest! Every year, you help us choose a chick to follow over the course of the breeding season. Then, we hold a contest to help us name the chicks.

So start thinking of your names now! Need a refresher on previous winners?

Blossom

Blossom was last year’s winning chick name! This cute little guy (or girl — impossible to tell without a DNA test!) was so much fun to follow last year as she grew from chick to fledgling. In early July, Blossom took off for a long voyage to Alaska. Although Blossom won’t be returning to Kauai this year, we hope to see him/her in a few years!

Other Winning Names

• Albert
• Abigale
• Sunshine
• Moana

Start brainstorming your winning name now!

Visit the original blog to get the current Albatross Schedule.

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