Today is world Albatross day. These large seabirds are graceful in flight, soaring over the water. There are 22 species in the world and 21 of these are listed as conservations concerns of some level, 15 of these species are on the Red List. One of the major concerns is the number that are killed as a result of ‘Long-line’ fishing. Thankfully work is taking place to reduce the numbers of albatross killed in this way. Projects in Namibia and South Africa have reported a 98% reduction in seabird ‘by-catch’. More still needs to be done to spread these good practices around the world.
Here in the UK we don’t get much opportunity to see albatross’ which predominantly live in the southern hemisphere. But I was lucky enough in 2022 to see the Black-browed Albatross which for a few summers made its home at the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire.
The only other Albatross I have seen was a Black-footed Albatross which I saw off the coast of California in 1995.
Pete's Favourite Things 