There was a time Short-tailed Albatross was next to mythical on even the most likely ferry route, down to Ogasawara, and booking passage on the weekly cargo ship was recommended. Nowadays, if not expected, it's no longer the great prize it once was. Though it's no less spectacular for that. We didn't see any on the outward journey from Tomakomai to Hachinohe but saw two sub-adults the following day as we headed back north.
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| Sub-adult Short-tailed |
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| An older sub-adult |
My personal favourite north Pacific albatross is undoubtedly Black-footed, it's such a long-winged, elegant bird.
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| Black-footed look great at any distance, it was nice to get a view of the horizon for once on this trip. |
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| The murk returns. |
As these numbers show, Laysan was by far the commonest of our three species.
downhill uphill
Laysan 93 103
Black-footed 24 33
Short-tailed 0 2
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| Laysan may have been the most numerous albatross species on the trip but a shot with a glimer of sunshine breaking through makes this one special. |
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