The Albatross of Midway

There are 3 Albatross species that are seen regularly on Midway. They are: Laysan Albatross, Black-footed Albatross, and Short-tailed Albatross. Midway is the largest Albatross colony on the planet with more than 500,000 breeding pairs. It is also the largest Black-footed colony and the largest Laysan Colony on earth. There are only 3 or 4 Short-tailed seen each season but they were once the most numerous Albatross in the North Pacific. They were decimated by the feather trade in the early 20th century. There are only 1000-2000 Short-tailed Albatross world wide now but they are increasing slowly. Combining all the breeders and non breeders gives a total of more than 1.5 million albatross on Midway. They are quite a presence! In the attached pictures the nearly all white birds are Laysan Albatross, the dark brown birds are Black-footed Albartoss and the seated bird with the massive bill and brown head is a Short-tailed Albatross.