Eremita

The Chatham Albatross Thalassarche eremita is well-named, it has been singularly elusive with regard to me. I have traversed its favoured stretches of ocean numerous times but never set eyes on this, the shyest member of its tribe. So far, my cunning plan to contrive a way to visit its sole breeding site, 'The Pyramid’, a vertiginous rock off the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, had come to nought, so it was time to take a new tack.

With the sunrise at our stern, approximately a hundred nautical miles (185km) of ocean divided us from Valparaiso, Chile, and still comfortably within the influence of the Humboldt current, we were arrowing westward toward the Juan Fernandez Islands. It wasn’t long before we spied a dark-headed mollymawk, a real contender, but just too far for comfort.

Hours ticked by before another, suitably dark-headed, albatross approached. This time the distance was reasonable and even the harsh sunlight couldn’t obscure the deep blue-grey of the head and neck, or the absence of a pale forecrown. The clincher was the bill, obviously deep-yellow, even though it wasn’t a full adult.

Chatham Albatross February 2025, east of Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile © Jeff Clarke

The bird careened past, our encounter lasting barely thirty seconds from start to finish. An irrefutable Chatham Albatross had crossed my path. Quiet satisfaction, but not elation; for that, I must still make a pilgrimage to the Pyramid.