Great pics on the albatrosses! Glad you and Russ saw Laysan Albatrosses while in Hawaii! Can't imagine laying an eye at 74!! Do you calculate age for them as for dogs (7 years to our one)?
It takes 5 years for birds to be adult, which is pretty compressed compared to us. Then, though, they do just fine if they don't get killed by a predator, poison, starvation, or other bad stuff, and just about every year females can produce an egg, at least up to the point where they're 74, I guess. My reproductive years were over more than 2 decades ago. So there really can't be a simple rule like multiplying or dividing an age by a particular number.
It IS embarrassing to belong to the same species, our plastics being another scourge. But the redeeming factor is that there are so many that care, such as yourself, Laura, and you and they constantly come through BIG TIME in the spirit of Dr. Robbins (and I sense you miss him now more dearly than ever) for birds and nature. The scientists on Midway are wonderful, I having the pleasure of seeing one young one on a private Zoom presentation describing conservation activities there to us and his absolute, unmitigated passion for them.
Great pics on the albatrosses! Glad you and Russ saw Laysan Albatrosses while in Hawaii! Can't imagine laying an eye at 74!! Do you calculate age for them as for dogs (7 years to our one)?
It takes 5 years for birds to be adult, which is pretty compressed compared to us. Then, though, they do just fine if they don't get killed by a predator, poison, starvation, or other bad stuff, and just about every year females can produce an egg, at least up to the point where they're 74, I guess. My reproductive years were over more than 2 decades ago. So there really can't be a simple rule like multiplying or dividing an age by a particular number.
It IS embarrassing to belong to the same species, our plastics being another scourge. But the redeeming factor is that there are so many that care, such as yourself, Laura, and you and they constantly come through BIG TIME in the spirit of Dr. Robbins (and I sense you miss him now more dearly than ever) for birds and nature. The scientists on Midway are wonderful, I having the pleasure of seeing one young one on a private Zoom presentation describing conservation activities there to us and his absolute, unmitigated passion for them.
What wonderful, beautiful birds. Thank you for sharing!
~Toshia