One day while doing our
weekend Meet and Greet on the bird exhibit line
at World Bird Sanctuary, I was asked a question that really stumped me. A
young girl asked me, "If you could work with any type of bird that you don't
have here, what would it be?"
It was a question that I
had never heard before and one for which I didn't know the answer. So,
while feeding the birds on the exhibit line and talking to this wonderful
family about our birds, I thought about what type of bird I would love to work
with.
Immediately I thought of
a Harpy Eagle. Harpy Eagles are one of the largest birds of prey in the
world, and one of the most powerful too, with talons almost as long as bear
claws. But as I kept thinking I finally decided on my answer; a Wandering
Albatross.
They have the largest wingspan of any bird (photo from the Wikimedia files)
Wandering Albatrosses
have the largest wingspan of any bird in the entire world, with the
largest one ever claimed being 17 ft 5 in. However, this report remains unverified. Average wingspan is
usually around 12 feet, still extremely impressive. They spend a majority
of their lives flying over oceans.
It takes about ten years
for a Wandering Albatross to reach its full maturity. As a juvenile, one would be almost completely brown, with
some white feathers on their head near their face. As they age the white
coloration will take over most of their body. Eventually, as an adult, they will have brown feathers on
their wingtips and at the end of the tail, with the rest being white.
They have a long hooked beak, much like a gull, but bigger. They
also have webbed feet, which makes sense.
These amazing birds spend most of their lives over the oceans (photo from the Wikimedia files)
Since they spend most of
their lives over oceans, they must be able to travel great distances over
a fairly quick period of time. One Wandering Albatross was recorded traveling
just over 3,700 miles in only 12 days. They often spend their nights
sleeping afloat on the oceans' surface. They feed mainly on squid and
other cephalopods, but will also eat other aquatic life.
Sailors consider an
albatross a symbol of safe journey. Albatrosses often are found following
boats, feeding on the fish waste that many boats create. The male and
female share time incubating the
egg and raising their young. They will mate for life and only lay one egg
per breeding season.
The Wandering Albatross
is listed as Vulnerable, not endangered, but they will be endangered if their
decline continues. The main cause of the decline of Wandering Albatrosses
is getting tangled in long line fishing operations in the open ocean.
They often drown trying to eat the bait on the hook, getting tangled and
being pulled under the waves.
A majority of the entire
world's breeding sites for these majestic birds are protected. Also, many fishering operations are
being relocated away from their migration routes, so it is good to know that
steps are being taken to help these birds.
We don’t have Wandering
Albatrosses at the World Bird Sanctuary, but we do have another species that
you might encounter the next time you go boating on the river or on the ocean—Pelicans. Once the weather warms up you may see
both the Brown Pelican and the White Pelican on our exhibit line. During this cold weather the Brown
Pelicans are spending their time in one of our behind the scenes heated
buildings.
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