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Flying for the Northern Royal Albatross is mainly effortless, landing can be a little bit harder. #RoyalCam chick had a front row seat to a ‘how not to land’ lesson. Landing is challenging because of the narrow wings of the albatross, which do not generate sufficient lift to fly slowly. Their preference is to take off and land when it's quite windy, which allows better control at slow speeds while using the angle of the wing and the speed of the wind to control the descent. However, on calmer days, things can get tricky, as is seen here. Lucky for the somersaulting alby, recovery was quick and only the chick was watching!! Albatrosses are sturdy birds accustomed to periodic mishaps on landing, and true to form, this adult walked away and appeared fine. RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation. For the 2020-21 season we have collaborated with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To learn more while watching, view the cam at or at ******************************* Royal Cam is a 24-hour live stream of a Northern Royal Albatross nest during the breeding season at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the southeast tip of New Zealand's South Island. The 2020/21 Royal Albatross cam season is underway with a return performance from breeding pair LGL (the female, named for her leg bands colored lime/green/lime) and LGK (the male, lime/green/black), last seen on cam in 2018-2019. The female laid the pair’s egg on November 7, and it hatched on January 24, 2021. This pair of ocean wanderers has been together since 2017, and in 2018–2019 they were the stars of the Royal Cam, raising their chick Karere all the way to fledging. After their successful breeding season, LGL and LGK took last year off to replenish their energy reserves, a pattern that is typical for Royal Albatross parents. Now these two are fully prepared for the long haul of another 10-month nesting period. Learn more about this season’s Royal Cam family from DOC: A new season means a fresh view of the Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve’s windswept headland! The camera has been repositioned to feature this new nest for the official start of the season. Be sure to follow the cam on Twitter to get all the updates during what’s sure to be another action-packed season on New Zealand’s South Island. #birdcams #live #albatross #birds #wildlife #nature #nowplaying #newzealand #endangeredspecies
