For the past 14 years, a solitary albatross has flown into the small bay in Point Arena, Calif. (about 3 hours north of San Francisco) to spend the winter. An albatross is a king-sized version of a seagull, with a 6-7 foot wingspan. This one is a Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) and it has made friends with the surfers of Point Arena. If a surfer splashes a little, the albatross will swim over and touch him with his beak, and allow his chest feathers to be stroked. Townspeople have put up a plaque on the pier designating him Al B. Tross. Paul McHugh, the San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoor adventurer/writer, wrote a column on the albatross in February: Vagrant Albatross Returns
When my friend Michael Jeneid read the story, he went up to Pt. Arena and shot this photo with a 500 mm lens:
Al B. Tross chats it up with surfer Noah Moutan in Point Arena. Photo (c) 2007 Michael Jeneid
