Latest on the Moli Hatchlings

This message is from Dr. Lindsay Young, wildlife biologist. She wanted to share this with everyone:

It is that time of year again: when small balls of fluff start appearing all over the reserve as the albatross chicks begin hatching at Kaena Point. Their parents, which laid their eggs in late November and early December, have patiently taken turns for 65 days sitting on their large eggs and are now welcoming their new chicks into the world. The first chick hatched on January 20^th, and on February 6^th thirty three chicks had hatched. We expect that by the end of this week, the remaining 7 eggs will hatch for a total of 40 chicks. This year there were 57 albatross pairs that laid eggs. Of those 57 nests, a cat unfortunately ate 7 of the eggs, and another 10 did not hatch. Every year, about 25% of albatross eggs laid do not hatch which is completely normal. Of all the chicks that do hatch, 75% of them will survive to leave the nest which means that of the 33 chicks we have so far, we expect 24 or 25 of them to fly away in July. Stay tuned for updates!