Ocean Watch

Friday,  February 13, 2004

Years ago, I had a friend who liked to say she had an albatross around her neck. I knew this meant she was having a bad day, but otherwise, I thought the expression was something the woman made up.

Now I know that the phrase comes from "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798. By using everyday language in this epic tale, Coleridge changed the way people thought about poetry.

He also changed the way people thought about albatrosses. "Rime" not only made these magnificent seabirds famous, it declared them symbols of good luck.

In the story, the Ancient Mariner ends the good sailing conditions he and his fellow sailors are having by killing an albatross. The bad luck worsens and his angry shipmates hang the dead bird around the Mariner's neck.

This is hard to picture. Wandering albatrosses, the largest of all seabirds, have wingspans up to 11 feet. The wingspans of Hawaii's black-footed albatrosses are about 8 feet, and our Laysans measure just over 7. Smaller albatrosses exist, but whatever the species, an albatross is a lot of bird to haul around a deck.

Over the years, bad luck has plagued the albatrosses themselves. Millions of these docile seabirds were killed for their feathers and millions more lost their breeding colonies to humans. Today, 16 of the world's 21 species are endangered.

Others, such as Laysan albatrosses, are recovering but we still don't see them very often. These large seabirds are in their element, and at their finest, soaring over rough seas in strong winds out in the middle of nowhere.

And when they do come to land -- as they must to reproduce -- these ground-nesters do it in remote places free of cats, dogs, mongooses and other predators.

The Northwest Hawaiian Islands is such a place. Most of the islands there, called the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, host seabird colonies, black-footed and Laysan albatrosses among them.

The third native albatross in the Northern Hemisphere is the short-tailed albatross, also called the golden goony, which was hunted to near extinction.

Today, these beautiful birds nest on only two islands off Japan. Talk about bad luck. One island is an active volcano and the other is a political hot spot and off limits to researchers.

Today, around 1,600 golden goony birds remain, but their future is precarious. When fishing boats roll out their long lines, these birds go for the bait meant for fish and get hooked. There are ways to avoid this, but few fishers do it.

Black-footed albatrosses are also hit hard by the long-liners. So even though they are breeding successfully in our northwest islands, their numbers are declining.

Laysan albatrosses, which are shy of ships, are easier to find. You can visit some of these fantastic birds at Kaena Point Nature Preserve where 27 pairs are nesting and others are courting. Seeing these big birds soaring, dancing and tending their chicks is always a thrill.

You can help Oahu's albatrosses by staying on the path and leaving the dog at home. I know. My dog loves hikes, too, but dogs are the main cause of albatross deaths at Kaena Point and are therefore kapu. Besides that, no one wants their pet to have bad luck.