I met my first Laysan Albatross in 2004, on private property in Kilauea. This was a chick, quite a large creature already, who was in the process of growing his/her body and wings. The property owner had casually named him Norbert. He was alone and had occasional visits from an adult that was incredibly beautiful. He seemed content to have such company; they sort of napped and then the adult disappeared.
This is Norbert and I still refer to this spot as Norbert's Hill.
Norbert trying his new wings about three weeks before flying for real
His down will disappear once he is out at sea
Norbert continued to wander around the hill - I could hear his large webbed feet slapping the driveway. He was curious and liked to beak the shiny wheel nuts on my car. In early July he too, disappeared. I learned that he had "fledged" right on time.
Still 2004
By November, I was working in a little portable office on Norbert's hill while we did some major construction on the thirty plus acres property. Several aldult albatross began to fly in, calling to each other, taking off and landing. Clearly there were two pair and I witnessed many unique behaviors I would eventually learn were typical. One of the thrills was hearing them call while flying overhead and if one was already on the ground, it would answer. I watched them mate, groom each other, cuddle, strut, and clap their bill, leave and arrive. I started thinking of the nest makers as Bella and Angie and the mates as Beau and Al. A year later I would actually know who was who but not yet.
Angie & Al reuniting
Angie and Al uniting
Bella & Beau - probably Norbert's parents from last year
Bella & Beau settling in to new nest site under coco palm
Bella nested under a coconut tree (nest 1) and the other more secretive Angie chose a nest site about 25 feet up a slope tucked under the foliage of areca palms (nest 2). By December 7th I notice both nests have eggs! Once the eggs were laid, the girls took off - they had gone without food for some time, and now the boys sat on the nests. As I was actually working, I didn't always see them switch.
Angie's secret nest
January 2005 - Tragedy on Norbert's Hill
First, either Angie or Al failed to return from a feeding flight. Some of these birds turn out to not be good parents, particularly if they are new at the job. I didn't have that knowledge and was certain Al was lost at sea. At any rate, the one nest sitting on nest 2 stayed as long as possible and finally had to leave or starve. One abandoned egg. The survivor returned over and over but the mate did not. The other pair, directly out my window and under the coco palm, worked in shifts - diligently taking turns on their nest.
The coconuts were large and I feared one might fall and injure or kill the birds so we called in a trimmer. One of the crew had suggested a temporary roof of plywood but it seemed like preventing them from seeing the sky was not the best solution. The trimming job was fascinating as one climbed the tree while the other watched out from below and then together they cleared the debris. The small fellow on the ground sat squatting and staring at the nest and never said a word. The big climber was friendly and excited to see the birds - a thrill for most of us to be in their realm. We had such terrific respect for our gorgeous and stoic feathered friends. That was Friday and on Monday, January 17th, the egg was missing, no sign of it.
Both adults came and went, making keening noises at the nest, at each other. sometimes one or the other sat on the nest but knew it wasn't quite right. They walked around bewildered, flying off only to return and check it all out again. The remaining adult from nest 2 also still arrived and wandered, sometimes all three of them trying to figure out why their parenting duties were abruptly no longer needed.
Some of the crew were certain the coconut cutter's assistant came back and took the egg. Apparently it is a delicacy in some parts of the world to eat the nearly formed chick by cooking it in its own egg. It was a nasty thought and most of us could not fathom causing the grief that settled among birds and humans alike. Grown men were near tears. It was a few days later, one of us walked up the hill to the abandoned nest 2. The egg was still there plus a second egg, muddy with red dirt, was in the foliage about four feet below it. It is a mystery to this day. The refuge biologist at the time was Brenda Zaun and she said sometimes new mothers will leave an egg near another nest that they do not intend to care for. We will never know if that second egg belonged to a third female or if some critter had somehow moved the lower one up the hill intact and none of the parents discovered it there. Brenda tried to give nest 1 another viable egg that she had rescued elsewhere but it was too late. The cycle had been broken. She was able to band two of the birds so we could tell them apart ever after. The one she did not get already had a pale green band on one leg that meant it had been banded at the Pacific Missle Range on Kauai's west side. 
Brenda tagging Angie
It was truly heartbreaking that three willing adults had no chick to rear. We were all immediately impacted by the grief and pain of "empty nest syndrome." Eventually they stopped visiting and returned to their natural habitat in the northern cold waters near the Aleutian Islands or off Japan.
The 2005-6 Breeding Season
In November of 2005, KP668 and "green band" from the previous nest 1 and KP667 from nest 2 all returned. Other hopeful birds came and went as well with much dancing and displaying. Nest 1 was rebuilt, another egg. This time they chose a little Cook Pine to build their nest under, only a dozen feet from the coco palm.
This year was not so tragic, it has a happy ending. The whole crew and I lived through observing the season with awe and anxiety. We felt both protective and privileged. One nest, one egg, one more chance for survival. By now I deeply loved these creatures - the doting parents, Bella & Beau, took turns on their nest and talked not only to each other, but to the egg.
February 2nd Day one
Keiki Moli 3 weeks old
The Hawaiian name for albatross is Moli (mow-lee) and baby is keiki (kay-kee). Once the egg pipped and hatched, it was immediately Keiki Moli to me. We watched this little guy grow and when the parents deemed he was strong enough they could both leave to feed. They often have to go as far as Alaskan waters to not only eat for themselves but to bring back enough food for the keiki. They regurgitate the squid into the youngster's throat from their holding tank. 
Old enough to wait for Mom and Dad so they can both feed him
Someone suggested I read Eye of the Albatross by Carl Safina and it opened my eyes. The young bird needs a heavy diet to grow the incredible wings that will make him the most efficient flying machine on earth. Once he leaves here, he will not return for 3-4 years, he will remain at sea that whole time! He will then come back to this very spot and hopefully find a mate - they will court annually for another 3-4 years before producing a chick of their own. The female will more likely be loyal to this very spot and the male will prefer it but will follow his hormones to a lovely female.
April and growing fast
What a miracle to watch that little bit of fluff grow with his steady diet of squid. As he walked around more he beaked everything he could - curious or continuously hungry? He is actually heavier now than his parents who are flying regularly and he has to lose some of the baby fat in order to fly himself.
As time passed it was becoming obvious that Keiki was forming not only his ever growing wingspan but also his adult feathers were coming in under the down. Windy days would expose them more and more as the fluff blew off.
So very handsome and/or beautiful
At this stage his avian pox has cleared completely and his eye color is filling in nicely. It helps cut down the glare once they return to their watery world up north. His beek is beginning to show some of the mature color, losing a little of its grayness. There is a very awkward stage of adolescence all albatross go through displaying varying head patterns. In this photo Keiki Moli had a full head of down and by the time he fledged, it looked more like he had a receding hairline. Of course, this is all in terms of the observers, humans.
Brenda banded him while I held him on May day (KP199). What a thrill to touch him, something I would not have done for any other reason. I couldn't believe how light he was for his size.
Courtesy of Brenda Zaun
Note Keiki's foot on my arm: I had a bloody badge from his claws as well as the white poop shot down my leg (used squid). I put him back down in some shade and he was grumpy and complaining for a little while and then settled down to a nap. Brenda also banded the parent with the green band that I called Bella, now K320. I later learned that Bella was Beau and vice versa! I had a 50/50 chance and my projection of their behavior wasn't based in reality. Unless you see the egg drop - not safe to guess!
This is Keiki Moli about two weeks before fledging in early July, aka KP199
He spent lots of energy flapping those wings and resting when the wind was down. The wingspan is nearly 7 feet across for Albatross. He was getting hungry and it was about time to feed himself.
I had made daily entries on my desk calendar, constantly taking photos because I was aware of how precious this experience was. The movie March of the Penguins came out that year and I was struck by the similarities of character if not climate where the birds nest. They are all stoic and patient, focused and tender, and starvation is part of their cycle. We could learn from them, and I did. After Keiki fledged, first week of July, I put a little album together, a photo story, from the hundreds of shots I had. I showed it to my boss one day who had been too busy to enter the soap opera some of us were enjoying. I had a little concern that this would make it clear he had sponsored the project. I wasn't sure how he would feel although he did know I stayed until my work was done daily regardless of how much time I spent looking out the window. He finished looking at the album and said "This is your own march of the penguins." I may have imagined a slight dampness in his eyes as he said it. The 2006-7 Breeding Season
Gil and I moved into the guest house a few hundred yards from Norbert's Hill in September while our house was submitting to its own remodel. We became the 24 hour presence on the Kilauea property for security purposes. We were very excited at the prospect of living in such a beautiful setting (although it was under heavy construction in places and we often woke to work crews outside our window!)
In mid-November we could hear albatross calls as they circled and landed. Bella and Beau were back. They came and went. They walked over the landscape, chatting - up and down the hills, sometimes napping; choosing a nesting site? We anticipated the season with eagerness, the chance for Gil to share the daily development of a keiki. It was not to be.
Someone said recently that Albatross mate for life but that they are only together for two weeks a year - that's shy it works! For whatever reason, Bella and Beau did not make a nest again until the next year. We don't know why they made that decision. These birds may take a season off to molt, or they do not attempt to raise a chick when there is not sufficient food for them to do it successfully. It could be they were put off by the heavy machinery reshaping the road through the property - but human endeavors were largely ignored the previous two years. In retrospect what is interesting to me is that they showed up, met, spent hours together. Did they make their decision together or did one or the other communicate their decision or reason? We'll never know.
The 2007-8 Breeding Season
We were still on the property when they returned in November. As always, we loved hearing their call and to watch them wheeling in the sky and tramping around on the now grassy slopes. There was a brand new nesting site this time, not close to any buildings. It was if they wanted to be a little more secret, going deeper into some landscape foliage than before.
Bella has a nice nest and a beautiful child on the way.
Secret Keiki February 2008
We certainly did not experience the bond that comes with daily progress. Brenda tagged the chick as K514 before it fledged in July. But we call it Secret just in case you see it sometime.
Secret in April, old enough to wander
