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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
On the island Espagnola in the Galapagos are nesting approximately 12000 pairs of waved albatross (Diomedea irrorata) Part of the colony is accesible from the visitor site, but the birds are only present between about April and December. After months or even years at sea the Albatross is returning to Espagnola to find their partner of previous year, or if they are young to find a mate - for life. Soon after finding their partner they begin courting. It must be an awesome sight to see that happening. The huge birds are facing each other and go through motions of 'bill-circling', 'sky-pointing', the 'shy-look', the 'drunken-shagger', 'bill clapping', 'mooing' and 'gaping'. The movements flow into one another, and are repeated in different orders and punctuated by rest periods, only to begin again. All this ends up in mating and eventually a large, ca 285 gr, white egg is laid in a shallow scrape directly on the ground. Both birds share incubation duties, sometimes remaining a week or more at a time. Finally, some 60 days later, a 200g chick hatches. (You'll see a picture tomorrow - and then story continues)
I was told by the guide that this one was still sitting on an egg. |
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