Friday was a very happy birthday for one special albatross chick. According to Salon.com, the first short-tailed albatross hatched January 14 on Eastern Island in the Midway Atoll, the first time these critically endangered seabirds have hatched outside Japan in recorded history. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has spent years encouraging the birds to nest away from their traditional nesting grounds, which are under constant threat of volcanic activity.The first mated pair of short-tailed albatrosses visited Eastern Island in 2008, but the current nest has been their first reproduction attempt. Remote cameras have been used to monitor the nest and will continue to be used as the chick grows.
Short-Tailed Albatross Chick
Photo © USFWS Endangered Species
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