Hardworking Mom Wisdom the Laysan Albatross Returns to Nest
Wisdom sits on her nest after returning from foraging for food in the ocean. Photo credit: Wieteke Holthuijzen/Friends of Midway Atoll
After a couple weeks of foraging in the open ocean, Wisdom
has returned to relieve her mate, Akeakamai, from nest duty. Both Akeakamai and
Wisdom will share the responsibility of incubating the egg, each taking turns going weeks without
food and water while the other one forages, to assure the success of their chick. Volunteers report the egg
looks healthy with no visible issues. If all goes well we should expect an
early February hatch date.
Wisdom sits on her nest after returning from foraging for food in the ocean. Photo credit: Wieteke Holthuijzen/Friends of Midway Atoll
The approximately 66 year old Laysan albatross was spotted on December 3 already incubating the newly laid egg. Eggs will generally take between 62 and 66 days to hatch and chicks will need care for an additional four months before they are able to fledge. Laysan albatross will only lay one egg a year, almost every year.
Wisdom, live! Video captured by: Charlie Pelizza/USFWS
Wisdom has been using the same nesting site on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument since at least 1956, when she was first banded. The landscape around her nest may look different but in 61 years our famous bird is still sitting pretty.
