Jennwren videos

I do not know where to begin describing the Layson Albatross or, in Hawaiin, mōlī. I may start with the numbers. This bird has a wing span of 6 ft or more and lives over half of its life at sea. Nearly 100% of the population of this bird breeds in the Hawaiin Island chain. The birds will pair for life. The oldest known bird is a female tagged in 1956 named Wisdom. She is over 74 years old and continues to lay eggs.
In the video, you can see and hear the courting dances and the noise of the unpaired birds. Once paired, the birds forgo the courtship rituals and produce an egg. A Layson Albatross lays a single egg per year. To allow the female time to recover from laying the large egg, the male takes over the egg's incubation for three straight weeks. Males and females can share incubation and feeding between hatching and fledging. Once juveniles make their first flight, they will remain at sea for three to five years.
You will notice salt glands under the eyes and on the beak. These glands help remove excessive salt that the birds ingest while feeding. Human pollution and water floating at sea produce a significant risk to the Layson Albatross. Human-generated trash in the oceans impacts the health and safety of this bird. Please be responsible for the waste you generate and its disposal; enough said, do not let me catch you littering.
The breeding ground in this video is designed to protect the birds from invasive rodents introduced carelessly to Hawaii by industries in the past. A fence and rodent traps keep the mongoose away from the nesting birds, and dedicated footpaths allow humans to observe from a safe distance. However, sometime around 2015, a group of young men visited the park and killed at least 15 of the nesting birds. It is a painful story, weighing heavy on my trust in humanity. Also, please stick to the walking paths while visiting the park and not enter the breeding grounds.
Otherwise, get outdoors and do your part to make the world beautiful. If you plan to visit this park, do so with a love of nature. Pack in, pack out.