Photo Credit: FWS Volunteer, Sarah Gutowsky, Dec. 2010, took these beautiful photos on Eastern Island of Midway Atoll NWR. Short-tailed albatross on its nest, incubating an egg.
The majestic short-tailed albatross, an endangered seabird, is the largest albatross in the North Pacific with a wing span of 7 to 7.5 feet and golden plumage on its heads and nape. Once thought to be the most abundant albatross species in the North Pacific with a population of over 5 million adults, these birds were hunted for feathers, and harmed in other ways, to near extinction. By the 20th century, only two colonies remained on remote islands in Japan. In 1939 their main breeding grounds on Torishima Island were buried under 30-90 feet of lava due to a volcanic eruption. Population numbers plummeted to 10 nesting pairs. Since then, conservation efforts have helped increase the population to approximately 2,400 birds.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/5229371265/in/set-72157625522391142/
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