Kauai Albatross

 I have written with photos of the Kauai Albatross previously, but have a greater understanding after attending a meeting of the local organization dedicated to the preservation of this extremely unique bird. This group of volunteers closely monitors the Albatross nests invests large amount of money in protecting these birds. The session was extremely informative, but the website mostly offers their book which is one of their sources of income. Here is the Wikipedia entry for this bird. 

The bird exhibits multiple characteristics of interest. They mate for life, but spend little time together. They remain in the air for weeks, expending very little energy (unlike, say, hummingbirds, who must eat continuously) because they kind of surf the thermals, rarely beating their wings. They swoop to the surface of the ocean to grab mostly shrimp and they can drink salt water and then expel salt through a duct on their beaks. They live for decades and lay one egg after a two-month gestation most years. They have an extreme geolocation capability that not only allows them to return to their island, but to the patch of ground where they hatch.  

There are two places the variant we see here inhabits. Kauai is the smaller location and Midway Island is the other and larger population. Midway is gradually being swamped by the rising ocean, leaving less and less habitat for the birds there, which, in a few decades, is likely to leave Kauai the only habitat. 

I could deal with the talk about the dangers to Albatross, which exhibit no fear of pretty much anything. In the protected wildlife preserves (there are three), the major nesting areas are surrounded by fencing dug into the ground. The birds we see are unprotected nesting around the golf course that surrounds where we stay. The feral cats are a constant challenge because they are everywhere.  The protectors try to trap them, but the animal shelters are no-kill and neutering the cats is the best they can do. The presenter demonstrated the naivete of the albatross, showing a video of a bird walking around a cat in a trap, trying to investigate what this strange animal was. The cats go after the chicks 

Ironically, as I am seated outside this coffee shop, a cat decides to pay me a visit.