Loons to Tropicbirds

Common Loon in winter plumage

Barnegat Lighthouse, NJ

Laysan Albatross

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Laysan Albatross: Albatrosses are part of the tubenose family. The family includes shearwaters, petrel, and storm petrels.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A pair of Laysan Albatrosses dancing

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A pair of Laysan Albatrosses: After dancing, albatrosses would sit facing each other.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A pair of Laysan Albatrosses dancing

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Three Laysan Albatrosses dancing: The sounds made during dancing were irresistible to other un-matched albatrosses. The third albatross was sometimes welcomed and sometimes chased away.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Video: Dancing Laysan Albatrosses: These are Teenagers, widows, widowers, or divorcees. Teenagers in that they have not paired yet, widows or widowers in that their mates have died, or divorcees in that after several unsuccessful attempts to have offspring, they split assuming the problem is with the other. The un-paired birds spend much of their time during about a six month period dancing. If the paring works well they will mate next season.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Laysan Albatross chick sitting on its nest: By this age nests were usually abandoned.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Laysan Albatross chick

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Video: Feeding Laysan and Black-footed Albatross chicks

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Laysan Albatross taking off: They run as fast as they can and flap their wings to take off.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Video: Laysan Albatrosses taking off on the beach: This is literally a runway. The albatrosses run as fast as they can to help get into the air.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Laysan Albatross in flight

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A possible Laysan x Black-footed Albatross hybrid: There were several of these birds and all the ones whose mitochondrial DNA was tested had Laysan mothers.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Video: Hybrid Laysan/Black-footed Albatross trying to dance with Laysan Albatrosses: This bird looks closer to a Laysan but dances closer to a Black-footed. In any case it can't find a mate.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A semi-albino Laysan Albatross chick: Several of them are born every year. They usually fledge but they never return. It may be that the lack of pigment prevents them from fishing effectively in the open ocean with all the sun light reflecting off the water.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

An unusually Albatross chick, possibly a Laysan

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A pair of Black-footed Albatrosses

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

A pair of Black-footed Albatrosses dancing

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Video: Dancing Black-footed Albatrosses: These are Teenagers, widows, widowers, or divorcees. Teenagers in that they have not paired yet, widows or widowers in that their mates have died, or divorcees in that after several unsuccessful attempts to have offspring, they split assuming the problem is with the other. The un-paired birds spend much of their time during about a six month period dancing. If the paring works well they will mate next season.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Black-footed Albatross

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Black-footed Albatross chick at sunset

Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Black-footed Albatross semi-albino chick. Several of them are born every year. They usually fledge but they never return. It may be that the lack of pigment prevents them from fishing effectively in the open ocean with all the sun light reflecting off the water.

Sand Island, Midway Atoll