Suburban Laysan Albatrosses on Kauai are settled in for the new season

Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis breed at a number of coastal localities on the Hawaiian island of Kauai as has been reported in the ACAP Breeding Sites series.  One of the most unusual perhaps is within the suburb of Princeville where birds breed in private gardens and on golf courses.  Most Princeville albatrosses are colour-banded and dedicated “civilian scientists” Cathy Granholm and Bob Waid have been monitoring and reporting on the breeding attempts from nest construction though egg laying and chick rearing to fledging since at least 2011.

This season eggs were first reported laid in Princeville on 24 November, with the first birds arriving from around the 10th (click here).  Follow Cathy’s and Bob’s websites to see how the Princeville Laysans fare this season (and check out previous years).

Laysan Albatrosses gather in a Princeville garden, photograph by Bob Dowd

An “Albatross Cam” directed at a Kauai Laysan Albatross nest is expected to go live in a few weeks for the new season.

Selected reference:

Waid, R. 2005.The Majestic Albatross. Images of Kauai's Beloved Seabirds.  Honolulu: Mutual Publishing. 51 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 January 2016