Re: Birds that Fly Long Distances without Stopping

[Valerie Myntti]

Dear Reid & All:

Speaking of albatross….

I was very lucky to spend the morning—a few days ago— on the ‘Monarch’ in Port Chalmers, NZ with the sole purpose of viewing albatross. 

We can’t disturb their nests or young— so we viewed these extraordinary birds at a very respectful distance. 

Albatross have intrigued me for years because of their ‘magnificent extraordinariness’. There are no better adjectives to describe them. 

They are endangered and are in desperate need of global protections— against plastic, long line fishing and predators. 

When I read the poem ‘the Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ fifty years ago, it only added to the albatross’s mystical qualities for me. 

Below these pictures, I did a quick google search, compiling a list of their extraordinary characteristics for your reading pleasure. And, i’ve added a blurb about Samuel Coleridge’s poem. 

Take care everyone,

Valerie Myntti

Albatross

• Unihemispheric Sleep: Only one half of the brain sleeps, allowing the bird to keep one eye open to monitor for dangers and steer while maintaining flight.
• "Dive Sleeping": During long flights, they may take brief naps that involve resting for short periods in the air.
• Floating at Sea: When not actively foraging or soaring, they can rest for several hours while floating on the surface of the ocean.
• Energy Conservation: Their ability to glide for thousands of miles without flapping enables them to sleep in the air without excessive energy expenditure. 

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• Largest Wingspan: The Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, nearly 12 feet.
• Effortless Gliding: They use a technique called "dynamic soaring" to travel thousands of miles without flapping their wings, utilizing wind shear near the ocean surface.
• Immense Distances: They can travel 1,000 km in a single day and may circumnavigate the Southern Ocean in just 46 days.
• "Locking" Wings: To conserve energy, they have a tendon that locks their wings in place, allowing them to glide for hours with minimal effort, and they can even sleep while flying. 
• Long-Lived: Albatrosses are exceptionally long-lived, with some living to over 60 or 70 years of age.
• Lifelong Partners: They are generally monogamous and mate for life, returning to the same nesting site and partner every few years.
• Slow Reproduction: They only lay a single egg every one to two years, and it takes up to 10 months to raise a chick.
• Intricate Courtship: They perform elaborate "dances" to find a mate, involving head-bobbing, wing-spreading, and bill-clapping.
• Surface Feeders: They feed on squid, fish, and crustaceans, typically taking them from the surface of the water, though some species can dive up to 5 meters.
• Exceptional Smell: They possess a highly developed sense of smell, allowing them to locate food sources from 12 miles away.
• Desalination: They have special salt glands above their eyes to filter salt from the seawater they ingest. 
• Threatened with Extinction: Of the 22 recognized species, 15 are threatened with extinction (critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable).
• Longline Fishing Danger: They are frequently killed as bycatch in commercial fisheries, attracted to baited hooks and drowning, with an estimated 100,000+ killed annually.
• Plastic Pollution: They frequently ingest floating plastic debris, mistaking it for food, which they then feed to their chicks, often leading to starvation.
• Invasive Predators: On breeding islands, rats, cats, and mice threaten eggs and chicks. 

——————

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a haunting ballad about a sailor who suffers extreme supernatural punishment after shooting an albatross, a bird symbolizing nature and divine creation. He endures the death of his crew and immense guilt before learning to appreciate nature, eventually earning penance by telling his story to others so they will respect nature and all living creatures.  The mariner wanders, with the dead albatross around his neck, as a symbol of his crime & guilt for shooting the albatross with his crossbow. 

[Valerie Myntti]

I forgot to add an happy & important point: 

In pictures #4 and #5 below the white dots you see in the grass are albatross chicks in their nests. 

On Mar 10, 2026, at 1:13 PM, Valerie Myntti <valeri...@aol.com> wrote:



Dear Reid & All:

Speaking of albatross….

I was very lucky to spend the morning—a few days ago— on the ‘Monarch’ in Port Chalmers, NZ with the sole purpose of viewing albatross. 

We can’t disturb their nests or young— so we viewed these extraordinary birds at a very respectful distance. 

Albatross have intrigued me for years because of their ‘magnificent extraordinariness’. There are no better adjectives to describe them. 

They are endangered and are in desperate need of global protections— against plastic, long line fishing and predators. 

When I read the poem ‘the Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ fifty years ago, it only added to the albatross’s mystical qualities for me. 

Below these pictures, I did a quick google search, compiling a list of their extraordinary characteristics for your reading pleasure. And, i’ve added a blurb about Samuel Coleridge’s poem. 

Take care everyone,

Valerie Myntti

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