First Look

This painting shows three Laysan albatross from the 2016 season of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birdcam program's Kauai Albatross Cam. On February... more

by Elizabeth Smith

Title

First Look

Artist

Elizabeth Smith

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

This painting shows three Laysan albatross from the 2016 season of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birdcam program's Kauai Albatross Cam. On February 2, 2016, mother albatross Mokihana returned to her nest and her family after foraging for days in the north Pacific. Her mate Ikaika stood up and Mokihana saw her newly-hatched chick Kialoa for the first time.

Laysan albatross are devoted parents. Both mother and father work hard from November into July to raise a single chick. Mokihana and Ikaika did a magnificent job with Kialoa who fledged on July 16, 2016. If all goes well Kialoa will return to his/her birthplace in three to five years. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing Mokihana and Ikaika return to their nest site next year.

I've watched Cornell's bird cams since 2012 and was delighted to join the program in 2014 as a volunteer for the Albatross cam. Because I love the Bird cam program and because my reference photo came from the cam I'm donating the profits from sales of this print to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Uploaded

January 17th, 2021