Snowed in? Watch albatrosses nest on a sunny Pacific island instead

As many as 75,000 mating pairs are waiting for eggs.

While much of the United States is locked in winter, a very different scene is unfolding on Midway Atoll, a remote wildlife refuge in the Pacific Ocean. Here, warm breezes and ocean air welcome tens of thousands of nesting seabirds — and you can watch them live from anywhere in the world.

A Seabird Paradise in the Pacific

Midway Atoll, located on the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago, is home to as many as 75,000 pairs of Laysan albatrosses, also known as mōlī in Hawaiian.

These graceful, snow-white birds return to the same nesting sites every year, reuniting with their lifelong mates. If conditions are right, each pair lays a single egg and remains on the atoll to raise their chick.

Watch It All Happen on a 24/7 Live Cam

You can witness this extraordinary nesting season through a 24/7 live camera run by Friends of Midway Atoll, supported by members and donors.

From the comfort of your home, you may see:

• Laysan albatrosses caring for their eggs
• Ka‘upu (black-footed albatross)
• Koloa pōhaka (Laysan duck)
• Manu-o-Kū (white terns)
• Kolea (Pacific golden plovers)
• ʻAkekeke (ruddy turnstones)

You may even spot koaʻeʻula (red-tailed tropic birds) performing their spectacular aerial mating dances.

Nighttime Visitors From Underground

After sunset — around 11 p.m. to midnight on the U.S. East Coast — thousands of nunulu (Bonin petrels) emerge from underground burrows to tend to their nests, creating an incredible nighttime spectacle.

Meet Wisdom, the World’s Oldest Breeding Bird

Among the nesting birds is a true legend — Wisdom, a 75-year-old Laysan albatross known as the world’s oldest breeding bird.

She was first banded in 1956 by wildlife biologist Chandler Robbins. Since then, Wisdom has laid an estimated 50–60 eggs, with around 30 chicks successfully fledging.

In 2024, she made history again by becoming the oldest known wild bird to lay an egg, at the age of 74.

A Front-Row Seat to Nature

This live cam offers a rare, peaceful glimpse into one of the world’s most important seabird colonies — a reminder that even when winter rages elsewhere, life continues to flourish in extraordinary ways.