Male Short-tailed albatross incubating egg

This historic photo documents the first siting of a nesting short-tailed albatross (middle) at Midway Atoll national Wildlife Refuge. The two decoys on either side have been used (along with others and accompanying broadcasts of bird calls) on Eastern Island for several years to attract short-tailed albatross. It worked!Establishing a new nesting colony is important due to the ever-present threat of volcanic activity at the short-tailed albatross' main nesting colony on Torishima Island, Japan. In 1939 the main breeding colony on Torishima Island was buried under 30-90 feet of lava due to a volcanic eruption. Population numbers plummeted to 10 nesting pairs. Since then, conservation efforts have helped increase the population to approximately 2,400 birds, but the breeding colony at Torishima remains at risk. Image taken from USFWS Pacific Region Flickr page.