Albatrosses have a special place in the heart of seafarers. They, and a select group of other birds, are sea birds and that spend their lives at sea except to nest on isolated islands.
To see the Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes required going where they are. Our first long pelagic trip was with The Bird Guide out of Newport, OR. It went to the Perpetua Banks, 40 miles out for a total trip of 11 hours. We rendezvoused with some commercial fishing boats that had already attracted sea birds and they put out food scraps (chum) to attract them to our boat. They came in swarms, mostly Black-footed Albatross and Northern Fulmar (see that page).
The flying Black-footed Albatross can be identified by is prominent white rump (9471, 0127)). Their long thin wings with a seven-foot wing-span make for a very graceful flight (9992, 0006) like they are the commanding generals of the ocean. When coming in to land they stretch out their black feet like the landing gears of a 747 (0054, 9703).
They were close enough to the boat to almost touch affording great close up photos (see remaining figures). This showed off their whitish forehead closest to their bill and the white spot behind the eye. It also showed that their bodies were brown rather than their black appearance seen from a distance.
Photo 9965 shows them feeding with the Northern Fulmars (see that page).
See BIRD MOVIES page for videos of the Black-footed Albatross