Albatross

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Waved Albatross (Diomedea irrorata), in flight, Española, Galapagos Islands: photo by putneymark, 17 August 2007

Magnificent in dreamed
air, ungainly on hard ground
stranded, the great sea bird that
once rolled with the clouds
and thought the eye of
the storm a place for rejoicing
now falls from the sky
wobbling on wet wings
with a belly full of plastic

Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbena), Tristan da Cunha: photo by michael clarke stuff, 23 February 2009

Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), west coast of Rallier du Baty peninsula, Kerguelen Islands: photo by Dimitry Damasceno, 20 September 2004

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Hawaii, Leeward Islands, Pacific Ocean: photo by Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant, June 1969 (NOAA Photo Library)

Mated Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) pair: photo by James Lloyd, 2007

Remains of Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chick at Midway Atoll with clear examples of ingested plastic flotsam. They are the probable cause of death due to their situation within the remains. The Cousteau team has shown that ingested plastic is a frequent cause of death for these birds. This may be due to the fact that floating debris often becomes covered with a layer of plant-life, marine crustaceans and their eggs, which is appealing to albatross: photo by Forest and Kim Starr, 2008 (USGS)