The Laysan Albatross Birdcam
This has been an amazing year so far with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's live streaming birdcams. I was sucked into these cams two years ago when Cornell started streaming HD video of red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, ospreys and other birds, and two years later I'm just as hooked. I could go on and on about the birds and the cam program but I'm going to spare you that. Watch them and there's a good chance you'll be sucked in too!
This year Cornell teamed up with the Kaua'i Albatross Network and installed a cam on private property on the north shore of Kaua'i, streaming the amazing lives of a family of Laysan albatross. This year we watched Kaloakulua grow up, raised by her parents Kuluahine (Mom) and Kuluakane (Dad). She was born in late January and fledged on June 24th. Over those months we saw her explore her nest under trees and bushes on the edge of a lawn, then gradually increase her range until we sometimes needed people on the ground to go figure out where she was hiding out of cam view.
It was my great privilege to volunteer as a camera operator. I came into it late, but I joined an amazing group of people just as obsessed with the albatross as I am. I hope that next year we have another wonderful chick to follow!
The cam is off now for the season but should be back up in the winter. If you'd like to see many, many screenshots and videos from KK's months as a chick, check out my Twitter feed and the cam's official Twitter feed. You can also check up on another chick (Mango) still in the area and find out about albatross news through the cam's website.
I'm celebrating the Laysan Albatross Cam's first season with artwork. So far I have one completed piece and I hope there will be more. The piece pictured above shows a very young KK with one of her parents. It's meant to capture the sweet bond these birds share. The piece is small, only five by seven inches, and done in watercolor and colored pencil on paper. I'll be making prints of this piece available for purchase with all profits going to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Cam program. Stay tuned - I'll let you know when the prints are ready to go.