Three short-tailed albatross among a flock of northern fulmars. Short-tailed albatross (STALs) are critically endangered, so the International Pacific Halibut Commission has special provisions for recording any time sea samplers observe STALs out at sea during the annual stock assessment survey. As a sea sampler, I did my best to grab my video camera and get a shot of them taking off or landing near the boat, to check and see if they had a band around their leg. This helps those ornithologists (bird scientists) figure out if the birds are coming from a known breeding ground, or somewhere else. If they don't have a leg band, it means that they might be breeding in a new spot, which is great! This summer, I recorded 8 different sighting of STALs. I am working on putting up videos for each one. For now, check out what I have finished! Sighting 1: These were the first short-tailed albatross that I saw. http://youtu.be/zkFsbbr9yTg Sighting 2: For this ...