Campbell Island: Courtship Ritual of Royal Albatrosses
And this was beyond the National Geographic experience. I sat within 10m of a large royal albatross and started taking pictures. Then he stood up and made calls and another one landed and then both came closer to me. Dancing and courting ensued and then a third one landed. Just within feet of me! Albatrosses engage in very elaborate dancing and courting routing with wing flapping, beak clapping, screaming and making calls – totally surreal! This socializing routine is called “gamming” and it rare to see this in the wild. Sometimes half a dozen birds engage in this, which eventually leads to pair formation. This was truly a top ten wildlife experience of my life! Especially just three steps away from my camera!
