The Albatross

This is David's favourite animal/bird in the Galapagos Islands. We were also so lucky to watch the mating in progress which according to the guide of 16 years is very rare. He only sees them every 4 years or so. The most amazing thing about these birds is there shear wingspan up to 2.8meters! To watch them soar in the sky in truly breathtaking. Anyway, here are some notes about these awesome birds. The waved albtross is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. There are 20,000 pairs at the island Espanola. Juveniles spend 4 years at sea until they meet another mate. They then come to the island to bill each other for one whole year. Billing (picture below) is clicking beaks together is some weird choreography only known to the pairs. After billing for the year they then fly out to sea together as a couple for about 6 months. Then they come back to the island to mate and partner for life. How lovely. They lay a 285g egg(big) directly on the ground. They have no nest which is sort of strange but frankly there is not alot of stuff around to build a nest with. The parents feed their young with squid oil from a separate stomach. This oil is really high in protein. A chick will recieve 2 kg of oil! These birds arrived from the south pacific and got caught in the dulldrums around the Equator and stayed. They are often spotted in the Southern part of South America so they still fly great distances.