Laysan Albatross Cam

Screen shot of the nest cam. 

Bird cams are a way to learn something about a species' life at the nest, as well as glimpse some of the natural challenges they face.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nest Cam of a Laysan Albatross on the island of Kauai is one to check out.  The chick hatched January 27 and weighed less than a glass of water!  By July, this chick will have a seven-foot wingspan.  To raise their chick, the two parents will range across the Pacific, traveling as far as Alaska or Japan to bring back meals of digested squid.

Screen shot of the nest cam.

Wisdom, from USFWS Pacific Region

This species of bird made the news in 2011.  The oldest banded wild bird currently known is a member of this species.  "Wisdom" is at least 62 years old.  She has nested on the Midway Atoll since 2008.  In March of 2011, her nest was in the path of the tsunami that devastated the area. We are happy to report that she has a new egg as of November 29, 2013, exactly one year and one day since she laid her last egg!