All About Al

Al photographed at Point Arena in 1998 Photo Copyright: Ron LeValley

"Al" (or Alice?) is the Laysan Albatross that used to inhabit Point Arena Cove during the winter months. Typically, Al would arrive in the area in late November or early December, stay for two to three months, and then leave in February or March. Al did this regularly from the winter of 1994 when first recorded by Todd Easterla & Jim Booker until 2013 when Al stopped returning.

Typically albatrosses come to land only to nest, and then in colonies on islands such as the Hawaiian chain for the Laysan Albatross, so Al's behavior was very unusual. The bird was probably not a breeder because it shows up at Point Arena at the beginning of the Laysan Albatross breeding season and left at the season's end. As Ron LeValley, biologist and specialist in marine birds said: "Al is somehow mixed up."

Ron guessed the bird went to the Gulf of Alaska for the summer where most Laysan Albatrosses go. However, to confirm this would have required placing a data logger on Al's leg and then retrieving it a year later. Capturing Al to do this was not acceptable to either the bird or many of its followers.

The adult life expectancy of Laysan Albatrosses is unknown but is probably multiple decades. The Laysan Albatross wingspan is approximately 6.5 feet.

A tabulation of Al's arrivals and departures follows, thanks to the Mendobirds list on Yahoo (groups.yahoo.com/group/MENDOBIRDS) and to Bob Keiffer for the summary.