There comes a time in every young albatross' life when they move out of the 'cute chick' phase and enter the 'slightly awkward teenager' phase. In an earlier blog we presented this unfortunate stage in our recently departed Mollys. Now comes the turn of the Sootys, who are only just beginning to fledge from Gough.
Personally, I don't believe that albatross puberty hits the Sootys quite as hard as it does are Mollys, but I'll leave that for you to judge after looking at the photographs below. We're still treated to some excellent hairstyles which I'm sure the birds are only too keen to shed!
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| Still quite adorable (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| Getting attitude (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| Getting fatter (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| Imperious (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| Confused (David Kinchin-Smith) |
Prepare yourself for the next 3......
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| Awkward (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| Alarming (Em Witcutt) |
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| Gandalf! (David Kinchin-Smith) |
Fortunately, this difficult stage is over for many of Gough's Sootys. We're still waiting on our first fledgling from the study colony but the chicks are getting close; there is much flapping of wings to help them build up the muscles that they'll need to take that leap of faith and sore out to sea! The penultimate image is the stage that many of the birds are at now, with just a few wisps of a receding hair line and beard remaining. The final image is what our birds can look forward to in a few years time, because adults look magnificent!
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| Relief! (David Kinchin-Smith) |
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| To strange people like us....perfection (David Kinchin-Smith) |
David
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