Big Bird

Yay he flew in for me this morning! Super excited and utterly thrilling!

Albie, as he is affectionately known, the black browed albatross did a couple of circuits in front of Staple at Bempton Cliffs this morning and the excitement was palpable. Bins and lenses scoured the sea here and were rewarded with a flypast underneath the viewpoint. I can't begin to express how magical it was to finally see him swirl, circle and glide before flying off out to sea. 

The black browed  are a medium sized Albatross also known as 'Mollyhawks'  and this species is distinct from others by the nostrils on the side of its beak. The peachy pink on the tip is made up of between 7 and 9 plates which filter salt water from the oceans. Medium sized it may be but it dwarfed the gannets who have a 6 foot wingspan!

He has lived in the Northern Hemisphere since 2014 round Germany and Denmark well off course as they are normally found in the South Atlantic Ocean. He was chased off some cliffs in Denmark by white-tailed eagles in June last year and it was thought he had died. Albie looks doomed to live his life as a singleton because it's unlikely given the distance involved he would be able to fly against the prevailing winds and return to the breeding grounds to mate. 

Albatross can live to the ripe old age of 50 but experts think he is about eight years old.

I got lucky today only through the physios and gantry suppliers cancelling their appointments for my dad at the last minute. I had been advised I had to be there and duly cancelled my Wednesday and stayed in Yorkshire for an extra night. Annoying though this was every cloud has a silver lining!! Heading back to Bempton which I had misgivings about because of the drive home proved to be a winner. 

More flighty in Extra