Where the Sidewalk Ends.: How old do they get ?

15 November 2007

How old do they get ?

Laysan Albatross (D. immutabilis)

On Midway Island, they have a banded female Laysan Albatross that is atleast 57 yrs old. I say atleast, because 57 years ago she was banded not as a chick. So how many years had she lived before she was banded? Impossible to know. Easy to believe there are 60 year old birds out wandering the open ocean.

Adult (~5-6 yr olds) Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albtross return to the same remote island every year to breed.

Not only to the same island. Studies have shown that they return to within 2 meters of their previous years' nest.

2 meters!!

Laysan Albatross pair

Good morning,

mwyork

6 comments:

KB said...: I had no idea of bird ages. I'm impressed that they live such long lives. I wonder if the Albatross from Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner is still...oops, the mariner killed him, I nearly forgot. J and I take off Wed to head out for Thanksgiving, and we'll miss you a lot. Also 30 big wishes to you--got any cake and ice cream on that atoll? ;-); November 15, 2007 at 12:06 PM
KB said...: wow, those laysan albatrosses are strikingly gorgeous! what a picture!; November 15, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Matt,
Wow...the information
Wow...the pictures
Thanks,
bd; November 15, 2007 at 9:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Great pictures! The albatross pair appear so delicate, dignified, and drawn to your photographer's eye. Thanks for spending time with them and sharing the albatross pair with us.
JLY; November 15, 2007 at 9:57 PM
heidi said...: brilliant! miss the ramblings...; November 16, 2007 at 9:32 PM
MWYork said...: Kim... Aye, the ancient mariner did kill the bird. But, remember the poem does not end there. In fact, it just begins for that elderly crossbow wielding buccaneer. Thanks for bringing Coleridge up. I put a link to the poem on the side.

"Seabirds" tend to live longer on average than other birds. Longer to reach breeding adult status, longer to raise young for many, lay only one egg. Many theories and thoughts about the pelagics regarding this. Difficulty, in time, space, places to rear young, distance to forage...many evoloving without natural predators (except for albatross chicks and Tiger sharks...albatross adults and mariners with crossbows), etc.

We had ice cream. Ate it all before the new techs got here. Hope they aren't on to this site. The audience seems to have grown.

Someone in MO said to me that 30 is the new 20. I don't recall if she chuckled or not. I'm leaning toward the former.

Safe travels for you and J.

Heidi, not always here, but rambling on..; November 17, 2007 at 11:49 PM

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Hawaiian Monk Seals

The most endangered seal in the U.S., with only around 1500 in existance. This animal has always had a fragile phenology due to the precarious transition from nursing pup - to weened pup. This species had its population lowered due to a number of factors including human harrassment, historical hunting among others. There are those in certain groups and agencies that have had the opinion that in order to help this animal, the culling of the Galapagos Shark, one of its main predators, from nearby waters that seals use as the way to bring the population back. An oceanic apex predator had nothing to due with the seals' population decline. Interesting how we humans immediately go to predator persecution in various aspects of wildlife management and conservation. The last shark crew on Tern I., not without effort, took all of zero Galapagos Sharks. Cunning, we as a species are sometimes. Anyhow, the outlook for the HI Monk Seal is not a rosy one, though many biologists are working extremely hard on its behalf. The world has already lost the Caribbean Monk Seal and the Mediterranean Monk Seal. Unfortunately these guys may be next. I felt absolutely honored and fortunate to have been able to see them during their extremely important restings on the shore, as well as the incredible experiences of being with them once in awhile snorkeling.

Tristram's Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma tristrami)

According to The Birds of NA, no.673, 2002; In the US this sp. breeds only on HI Archipelago, where it is the rarest and smallest breeding seabird, exact location for most colonies are still unknown.(we have them on Tern, and monitor the small population).The TRSP is one of the largest Storm-petrels. Breeding only in the remote NW HI Islands and small islands off Japan. It is considered threatened.(Birdlife International,2000) Because of the secretive habits and remoteness and/or inaccessibilty of their breeding sites, estimates of populations are out of date and inaccurate, making their protection difficult.**This guy was bumping our screen door last night. A tubenose, like shearwaters, petrels, even albatross. **For more about TRSP's, refer to the Nov. 4th entry entitled Nocturne.