A live-streaming camera is now operable at a group of Laysan Albatross nests

A live-streaming camera has been switched on to show the fortunes of a group of breeding Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.  The nests are on the property of a private residence on the north shore of Kauai, near the town of Kilauea (click here).

“In 2016, the Albatross Cam moved to a different property featuring four nests on camera (two fertile, two infertile), and a fifth just out of view.  All of the birds were given names by a Hawaiian kumu, or teacher.  The parents of the central fertile nest featured in front of the cam under the ironwood tree are Manawanui (KP796) and unbanded Moana; they laid their egg on November 28, 2015.  The parents on the upper nest to the right of Manawanui and Moana are male Mokihana (KP194) and female Ikaika (unbanded), and their egg was laid November 26.  There is another fertile nest just out of site of the camera, downslope; the egg laid on December 3 is tended by parents Ka`imi (KP093) and Lilinoe (KP688).

There are also two infertile nests being tended by two female-female pairs: Pilialoha (K097) and Mahealani (KP672) are at the lower nest (beneath Mokihana and Ikaika); and Lawakua and Kiwahiwa are at the nest to the left of Manuwanui and Moana’s nest, near the driveway.”

Ornamental shrubs and palms help shade the nests.  A lawn leads away from the nests to a steep bluff over the Pacific Ocean, providing a runway for the adults and, eventually, the chicks, to take off."

A Laysan Albatross incubates on Kauai, photograph by Hob Osterlund

The ‘Laysan Cam’ joins the Royal Cam set to go live in three days’ time at a Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi nest in New Zealand (click here).

Last year’s on-camera Laysan Albatross parents continue to nest at the property that formerly hosted the camera.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 January 2016