Wisdom, world’s oldest known banded wild bird, returns to Midway Atoll in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross and the world's oldest known, banded wild bird has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. Wisdom is at least 69 years old and has hatched more than 35 chicks over the course of her life! Wisdom was first sighted at her nest site on November 22, 2019.

Wisdom’s mate Akeakamai has not yet arrived for the season, but she is not alone. Midway Atoll in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a globally important habitat for seabirds. The atoll is home to 73% of all Laysan albatross in the world. Each year in late October, more than a million albatross return to Midway from the sea and by the end of November nearly every available patch of land is claimed by a breeding pair.

Wisdom and her mate, like most albatross, return nearly every year to the same nest site. This behavior is known as “nest site fidelity” and it makes places with large colonies of nesting birds, like Midway Atoll, critically important for the future survival of seabirds like Wisdom.

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