World Albatross Day

Photo: Salvin's albatross, New Zealand.

It's World Albatross Day and here is my contribution! My first albatross experience was way back in May 1986 when I traveled to Shetland to meet the legendary Albert Ross, a black-browed albatross who resided in the gannet colony at Saito, Hermaness from the early 1970s to 1995. Spectacular though Hermaness is, on that day Mr. Ross did not really perform for us and just sat on the cliff below and about the best we managed was to see him stretch his wings. On the positive side, he remains the only albatross I have ever seen landed on the ground. That was my first and so far only albatross experience in the UK. I would have to wait another 29 years for my next albatross encounter. However, between Australia and New Zealand I've now managed to see 11 "species" of albatross and here they are.

The Great albatrosses
These are the giants of the seabird world. At one time they were considered to be just two species, wandering and royal, but these days they are split into several species.

Snowy albatross Diomedea exulans
At 3.5m this bird has the largest wingspan of any bird in the world and is one of the group of wandering albatross. My only encounter with this species was an adult and immature from the Port Fairy pelagic, Victoria, Australia in November 2018.

Photo: Snowy albatross.

Gibson's wandering albatross Diomedea gibsoni
Fractionally smaller than snowy albatross, this species breeds in New Zealand. However it is the commoner of the wanderers in Australian waters. I've seen this species twice, from the Port Fairy pelagic and at Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand.

Photo: Gibsons wandering albatross.

Photo: Gibsons wandering albatross.
Note the lack of a black cutting edge to the bill.

Northern royal albatross Diomedea sanfordi
Breeds on Chatham Island, New Zealand. I've seen this bird from the Port Fairy pelagic and at Kaikoura, New Zealand.

Photo: Northern royal albatross.

Southern royal albatross Diomedea epomophora
Breeds on Campbell Island, New Zealand. My sole encounter with this species was at Kaikoura, New Zealand. Note the black cutting edge to the bill which is diagnostic to the royal albatross group and seperates them from the wanderers at close range.

Photo: Southern royal albatross.
Note the black cutting edge to the bill
 and compare with Gibsons above.

The Mollyhawks
Small to medium sized albatrosses.

Shy albatross Thalassarche cauta
A large mollyhawk with a wingspan of about 2.5m. Also known as Tasmanian shy albatross, in my experience this is the species most likely to be seen from land over large parts of southern Australia. My first sighting of this bird was of about 50 individuals on the Port Fairy pelagic in Victoria and these were followed by sightings at Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia and at various headlands in Tasmania.

Photo: Shy albatross.

White-capped albatross Thalassarche steadi
The largest mollyhawk with a wingspan of 2.65m. Also known as Aukland shy albatross this species breeds on Aukland Island, New Zealand. My first encounter with this species was in the Hauraki gulf in 2018 and then from Kaikoura headland, South Island, New Zealand in 2020.

Photo: White-capped albatross.

Salvin's albatross Thalassarche salvini

Another one of the shy albatross group which breeds in New Zealand. I've only seen this species from Kaikoura.

Photo: Salvin's albatross.

Buller's albatross Thalassarche bulleri

This species looks very similar to Salvin's albatross and also breeds in New Zealand. My only experience of this species is from Bicheno in Tasmania, where along with shy albatross it is by far the most likely species to be seen from land.

Photo: Buller's albatross.

Black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris

This is the species which seems to get reported most often in the northern hemisphere.  The bird in the photo has a dark underwing and is therefore an immature. I my experience this isn't a particularly common species, even now I've probably only seen about four. Apart from the bird in Shetland, my first experience with this species was down under from a whale watching trip out of Sydney harbour.

Photo: Black-browed albatross.

Campbell Island Albatross Thalassarche impavida

A very similar species to black-browed, my only encounter with this species was from the Port Fairy pelagic in Australia. Note the pale iris which is diagnostic. The photo is of the bird which I saw but was taken by a fellow birder and photographer, Kevin Bartram.

Photo: Campbell Island albatross.

Indian yellow nosed albatross Thalassarche carteri

This is the smallest albatross with a wingspan of 2m. This species can be seen from land, for example I've seen them from Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia, but the photo was taken from the Port Fairy pelagic.

Photo: Indian yellow-nosed albatross.