After having been away for a month or so, it was great to get back and check on the progress of our little albatross friends. This really has been a great year for these magnificent seabirds, which was a great relief, as there was almost zero reproduction for a couple of years because of the El Niño phenomenon.
We have been lucky enough to follow the progress, week by week since hatching, of many individual chicks, and it is moving to see that these chicks have now got most of their adult plumage, with just some down remaining around the head and neck area. They are now starting to look towards the ocean, as in another month or so they will wander down to the impressive cliffs and work up the courage to jump off for the first time. This will be the last time these juveniles touch down on land for about five years, when they reach sexual maturity and it is time to find a mate. The waved albatross nests only on Española, and comes back year after year around May to court and breed.
