For five years, many of us were entranced daily by albatross chicks on the Cornell AlbatrossCam. From late January until late June, sometimes, even into July, we tuned in at all hours of the day and, thanks to an infrared filter, well into the night to watch chicks hatch, feed, and grow into their long six-foot wings. Too many memories to recount here were made.

Alas, things change. This year, Cornell’s AlbatrossCam is aimed on another even bigger albatross—the Royal Albatross in beautiful New Zealand–and, whoa, does this chick have an amazing view.

But for those of us who may be missing our Laysan albatross, I set up my tripod during my last bird survey and hit record. Here are nine minutes of a Laysan albatross chick being a Laysan albatross chick, intrigued by the mini “pinecones” that drop from ironwood trees. The grass tugging and foot scratching is good practice for future nest building efforts in six to 10 years when this chick, hopefully, returns to start raising another generation of Laysan albatross chicks. You’ll also see some albatross in flight in the background and hear the sounds of courting albatross. At the very end, an adult strolls through the scene. It happened to be a picture-perfect Kauai day, too.

I hope you enjoy it.

For the first time since the state began tracking new positive cases of COVID-19 in the state of Hawaii, today, no new cases were reported. We stand at 629.

Be well.