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Alison:
Wisdom is home!

At least 69 years old now, Wisdom has returned to Midway once again.

However, as of November 28, her mate Akeakamai had not yet returned, and I could find no further updates.

https://mauinow.com/2019/11/28/wisdom-worlds-oldest-known-wild-bird-returns-to-midway-in-time-for-thanksgiving/

Then last night, I found this:

Laysan albatross Wisdom and mate return to Midway nest site

Dec. 11, 2019

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross and the world’s oldest known banded wild bird, has marked another milestone.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/12/11/hawaii-news/laysan-albatross-wisdom-and-mate-return-to-midway-nest-site/

I cannot access the rest of the article, but the first sentence told me what I wanted to know.

Welcome home, Wisdom and  Akeakamai! Hoping for a wonderful year for this outstanding pair.

The Peregrine Chick:
World's oldest known wild bird has a new baby at 68
CBC / AP - 13 Feb 2019



The oldest known wild bird in the world has become a mother again at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. wildlife officials said.  The Laysan albatross named Wisdom hatched a chick earlier this month at the remote atoll northwest of Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.  Wisdom is at least 68 years old and has raised at least 31 chicks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said. Wisdom was first banded as an adult in 1956.  Wisdom and her mate, Akeakamai, have been returning to the atoll to lay and hatch eggs since 2006. Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg per year.

"She's incredibly powerful as a symbol of why we do what we do and why people all over the world pay attention to her," said Beth Flint, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. "Wisdom is rewriting history about our understanding of survivorship, how long birds live, and how often they breed."

https://twitter.com/USFWS/status/1093601985033654273

Albatross parents take turns incubating an egg for a little over two months. Chicks fly out to sea about five to six months after hatching. They spend most of their lives flying over the ocean — feeding on squid and fish eggs.

Midway Atoll is home to about 3 million seabirds, including about 1 million albatrosses. They return to the places of their birth to nest and raise their young, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. "Midway Atoll's habitat doesn't just contain millions of birds, it contains countless generations and families of albatrosses," said Kelly Goodale, biologist at the refuge. "If you can imagine when Wisdom returns home she is likely surrounded by what were once her chicks and potentially their chicks."

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/wisdom-albatross-chick-1.5017201

allikat:
Every time I see a story about an Albatross named Wisdom, brings not only a smile, but a proud tear for this species to my face!
She is one extraordinary and amazing bird that has caught our attention, and captured our hearts.
This is one strong determined bird that beats the environmental odds!
What an inspiration she is, and will always be!
Wisdom has taught us so many things about survival!
She is spectacular!

Alison:
Laysan albatross Wisdom is back!

December 7 2018

Wisdom, a 68-year-old Laysan albatross, has laid another egg with her longtime lover at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge



Photo: USFWS - Pacific Region

In sea mariner lore, an albatross is considered a good omen, and for almost seven decades, one bird has spread generations of blessings across the Pacific Ocean.

Wisdom, a 68-year-old Laysan albatross believed to be the world’s oldest known wild bird, has returned to her home at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge for yet another winter – and laid yet another egg to add to the already impressive brood that she has built up over an impressive lifetime.

Biologists with the US Fish and Wildlife Service think the almost-septuagenarian has birthed and raised as many as 36 chicks over the years. Should her latest egg with her longtime lover, Akeakamai, hatch, fledge and take to the open sea, it will be her 37th.

Wisdom was first banded in 1956 by biologist Chandler Robbins, who estimated that she was about five years old at the time. The biologist and bird met again in 2002 when he went to band her and recognized that she had been one of the 8,400 birds he recorded during his first season, 46 years previously.

Albatrosses are known for their long life spans and often outlive their researchers – Robbins died in 2017 at the age 98 – but what makes Wisdom unique is that researchers have been able to monitor her habits for so long. She may or may not be the oldest wild bird, but she is the oldest known wild bird, and her habits have been lovingly documented by the fish and wildlife service over social media.



Photo: USFWS - Pacific Region

Wisdom has managed to raise a number of chicks who have gone on to raise chicks of their own, she has also faced hardship. In 2015, her egg was reported missing, which biologists say is just what happens sometimes.

But her fertile contributions to the continuation of her species make every homecoming a celebration for scientists. Last year, they observed a chick that she fledged in 2001 setting up a nest just a few feet away. It was the first time one of her chicks had been documented returning to nest.

“Midway Atoll’s habitat doesn’t just contain millions of birds, it contains countless generations and families of albatrosses,” Kelly Goodale, a fish and wildlife service refuge biologist, said in a blogpost. “If you can imagine when Wisdom returns home, she is likely surrounded by what were once her chicks and potentially their chicks.”

For the complete article:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/07/worlds-oldest-bird-lays-egg-wisdom-albatross

carly:
Awww...poor little one  :'( :'( :'(

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