Cliff nesting

Best birthday, hands down

Photo taken by Edin from the Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse, just above the field station on the top of this very hilly island.

Old albatross

Today I start my desultory multiday trip from Maine to New Zealand, where I intend to sketch a lot of seabirds. My overseas flight isn't until this weekend, so in the meantime here's an albatross sketch from the archives!

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Sep 5, 2017 at 5:03am PDT

Actually this was a drawing (based on photographic references) of THE oldest known living bird, Wisdom the Laysan Albatross, who continues to lay eggs and raise chicks at age 66-plus.