The Midway Atoll (Kuaihelani in Hawaiian) is a group of small, remote pacific islands north west of Hawaii. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you learned about the Battle of Midway in school—a pivotal World War II naval battle in which the United States defeated Japan.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton transferred the atoll from the Navy to the Department of the Interior. Today, the islands are home to the Battle of Midway National Memorial and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for millions of birds and marine life. Around 40 staff members, volunteers, and contractors live and work on the islands.
One of the refuge’s most iconic residents is the albatross—a group of 22 species known for their massive wingspans and decades-long lifespans. The world’s oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, is an albatross in her early 70s who recently laid her 39th chick at Midway.
Every fall, the world’s largest albatross colony migrates to the atoll to breed. In fact, Wisdom’s was one of almost 645,000 albatross nests experts counted on the atoll during this year’s annual nest survey, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Facebook post.
The post includes a video captured by USFWS volunteer Dan Rapp as he rides a bicycle down the atoll’s Commodore Ave, weaving through hundreds of fluffy, absolutely unphased albatross chicks. Jon Plissner, the refuge’s supervisory wildlife biologist, explains that growing albatross chicks move onto roads to enjoy the cooling wind in hot weather and train their wings.
“As the wings get stronger, they also start hopping and flapping in windy weather, gradually getting a bit more airborne,” he explained. “Like their parents, they soon learn to run into the wind to get more lift.”
According to USFWS, these young birds are now beginning their long journeys across the ocean.
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