Changes in latitudes

  

Wow!  News started trickling in yesterday afternoon that a Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) had been spotted at Cordell Bank (5 October 2025).  I wasn't on the boat, but I asked if I could share a couple of photos because this is an intriguing record — and a first for North America!

Waved Albatross are more often seen off Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile.  They nest on Española Island in the Galápagos and on Isla de la Plata off Ecuador.  They are unusual among albatross species in having a primarily tropical distribution.  Prior to this record, the farthest north one had been observed was off Costa Rica (looks like possibly two records there, one in 1993 and another in 2014?).  Marin County is the farthest north a Waved Albatross has been seen by far.

This is a distinctive albatross.  Note the pale head and dark body/wings, the large yellow bill, a hint of yellow (sometimes called a suffusion) along the back of the head and neck, beautiful black-and-white vermiculations along the lower neck area, and blue legs and feet.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

Not sure why this species appeared in Marin County at this time, but others have mentioned that prior out-of-range records might have been associated with warmer water conditions.

With many thanks to Glen Tepke who kindly provided these terrific photos.

Seabirds of Kīlauea

Examples of seabirds at Kīlauea Point on the north shore of Kaua’i today (4 April 2024):

‘Ua‘u kani, or Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)

Koa‘e ‘ula, or Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)…including two in a courtship display:

‘Ā, or Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)

Mōlī, or Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)

‘Iwa, or Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)

Family time

Mōlī, or Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chick, photographed on O’ahu, Hawaii, on 29 March 2024.

And here’s a close-up of the parents:

Spanning the Northeast Pacific

  

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) offshore on 7 May 2023.

And here's a view of the entire bird so you can appreciate its wingspan:

 

 

P.S.  You can click on the images for larger versions.

 

Summer treats

  

A Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) approaching a large piece of squid just below the surface.

Then a second individual expressed interest, too:

 

 

When a third came along, things started to get a little fussy:

 

 

 

P.S.  And because we're thinking about albatross and food, here's a fun picture of the pie that was waiting for me when I returned home from the boat trip.  Hard to beat a blackberry-peach pie with an albatross design!  Nicely done, Eric!  :)

 

 

Gliding and arcing

  

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) were in view for most of the day during the pelagic trip on 23 May 2021.  Sometimes they were in the distance, other times very close to the boat, often there were more than 15 in view at one time.  Here are a few different perspectives:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like knowing that albatross are gliding and arcing over the waves around the globe.

 

For the record

I had kind of an "off" day for bird photographs during the pelagic boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 6 October 2019.  I was often in the wrong place for photos, or the birds were at odd angles or just out of focus.  But for the record, here are some shots that were interesting for various reasons:

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), a rarity in Sonoma County:

 

Flyby Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis):

 

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), an uncommon visitor from Australia or New Zealand:

 

A "ballet" of Buller's Shearwaters (Ardenna bulleri):

 

A Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) and the moon:

 

¡Hola, amigo!

 

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), near Cordell Bank on 22 September 2019

 

P.S.  A follow-up the to Laysan Albatross that I showed in a blog post on 27 August 2019.  That albatross had a numbered leg band that could be read from photographs.  Alvaro followed up and learned that individual was from a nest on Isla Zapato, an islet just south of Guadalupe Island off Baja California, Mexico.  The albatross hatched in February, was banded in May, and fledged in June (and it won’t return to the breeding colony until it is 6-7 years old).

Dream waves

I mentioned that the light and sea conditions were interesting on the boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019. Here are a few more examples.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

Dream wave:

 

Just a hint:

 

Glide (Black-footed Albatross):

 

Gray on gray (Red Phalarope):

 

Just visiting

 

A few Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) images from a boat trip to Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 25 August 2019.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

P.S.  For an introduction to Laysan Albatross, see the post called "Incoming" on 2 September 2012.  (And note that they also breed on Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California, Mexico, which I neglected to mention in that earlier post.)  And for some fun audio recordings of Laysan Albatross, check out "Largely silent at sea" on 9 September 2015.

Celebrating the oceans

To help celebrate World Oceans Day (on 8 June 2018):

 

Common dolphin (Delphinus sp.) 

 

 

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)

Both photographed at Cordell Bank (in 2014 and 2015, respectively).

 

Wisdom

 

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) near Cordell Bank on 15 October 2017.  For a fun story about a 65-year old Laysan Albatross (named 'Wisdom') from Midway Atoll, click here.  And maybe the Laysan dance will inspire you.  :)

Three different views

 

 

 

Several views of Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) near Cordell Bank on 20 August 2017.

P.S.  For an introduction to Laysan Albatross, check out the post called "Incoming" from 2 September 2012.  If you're interested in listening to audio recordings of their calls, see "Largely silent at sea" from 9 September 2015.

Today and every day

 

Celebrating Earth Day and science, today and every day!

 

Hope...

...is the thing with feathers (Emily Dickinson)
 

 

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)

Birds at the Bank

A few bird photos from the boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 30 July 2016:

 

Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) and Pink-footed Shearwaters (Puffinus creatopus)

 

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) preening

Sightings that day also included Northern Fulmar, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Ashy Storm-Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Sabine's Gull, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Cassin's Auklet, and Rhinoceros Auklet.  The best birds of the day were probably these murrelets:

 

Although I don't have a lot of experience with murrelets, I identified these as Scripps's Murrelets (Synthliboramphus scrippsi) based primarily on the amount of black on the face and the amount of white  under the wings (hard to see here).  Let me know if you agree or disagree!

 

 This was a nice start to the fall seabird season!

 

P.S.  For previous photos of Scripps's Murrelet (from Monterey Bay), see the post from 27 August 2014.  And for previous photos of Guadalupe Murrelet (from Cordell Bank), see the post from 21 September 2014.

 

From 20 miles offshore

A few pictures from the pelagic trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 18 September 2015:

 

 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata)

 

Northern Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis) 

 

Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)

 

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) 

 

Wings over wind over waves

(Black-footed Albatross with 6.5-foot wing span)

Many thanks to Debi Shearwater for 35 years of organizing pelagic trips out of Bodega Bay and giving so many people a chance to learn about offshore wildlife.