"Largely silent at sea"

As promised, here are a few recordings of Laysan Albatross calls, recorded near Cordell Bank on 9 September 2015.

First, a couple of pictures so you can visualize the albatross.  The birds were sitting on the water when we heard them calling.  

 

It appeared that the calls were "territorial" — that is, they were given when other individuals were close by or in response to another bird calling.  In the picture below, a Black-footed Albatross is approaching from behind.  (The Laysan is calling.)

 

I've included three audio clips below.  The National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America says that albatross are "largely silent at sea."  This day was an exception!

Sometimes two calls are given one-right-after-the-other — that's likely a second bird calling in response to the first.

[If you can't see the audio files in an e-mail, click on the title of the post above to go directly to the website.]