The First Albatross Of The Year Returns To Kauai – Hawaii

They’re back! Each year Hob Osterlund, author of Holy Moli, Albatross and Other Ancestors, has a contest to guess when the first albatross will return to Kauai. This year one eager bird (not the one shown in the photo) was spotted at a Kilauea property on Thursday, November 8th! A second sighting happened at the Kilauea Lighthouse on Friday. That means many more will follow over the next few weeks. We can hardly wait to see who shows up on Kaweonui Road.

Those of you who have been following my blogs know how crazy I am about the Laysan albatross. In fact, if you go to my blog category list you will see that I have already written ten blogs about these birds. Therefore, I won’t go into much detail, here, about what makes these birds so special to me and others on Kauai. You can read about that in my other blogs. But, I did want to share with you a short documentary that Hob Osterlund has created, Kalama’s Journey. She has been working on the footage for this video for a couple of years. Those of you who have been to our vacation rental, Honu Point, will recognize the opening shots.

Kalama’s Journey from Hob on Vimeo

The purpose of Hob’s documentary is to educate people about the future of albatross survival. Her hope is that it will be played at the airport for arriving guests so that visitors will have an appreciation for these unique birds when they see them. I will never forget the first time I saw one waddling along with what looked like black eye liner defining its eyes. Little did I know, then, that I would become such a huge fan.

Hob’s book, Holy Moli, Albatross and Other Ancestors, is a wonderful read combining a memoir with factional information about the albatross colonies on Kauai. There is a copy at Honu Point, but you may want to order a copy for yourself and read up about these amazing birds before arriving on island.

You may find Hob and her book at the Kilauea Lighthouse on Wednesdays from 11:00 to 1:00. She is an encyclopedia of bird knowledge and is more than happy to sign her book for you. Hob is also available for private bird watching tours, where she takes you to various places on the north shore for albatross and other bird observations.

I am so anxious to have these beautiful birds, with their long wingspans, gracefully flying over Honu Point once again. Hopefully life partners will meet up after months at sea, lay fertile eggs and produce many chicks for us to watch grow-up over the next eight months. No doubt I will be writing many more blogs as the albatross of Kaweonui share the neighborhood with us this year. If you are lucky, you will get to see them for yourselves. Come stay at our home and be part of the party.

For more of my blogs or to subscribe, go to our Guides page. For more information about our luxury vacation rental, Honu Point, on the north shore of Kauai, go to any other page of this website. We would LOVE you to follow us on Instagram. Mahalo!