Molly nesting at new site on mountain cliffs
Report and photos from Joe Hollins
Joe spotted a Molly nesting above the 1961 volcano at a place called Ben’s Cave. It is the first time anyone on Tristan has known one there. His spectacular photos below show the nest site, high on the cliffs which rise almost vertically behind the Settlement Plain.
Mollies, or Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatross, are the smallest albatross species and the most common breeding on the Tristan da Cunha Islands, where the Tristan Albatross or Gony (only on Gough and Inaccessible Islands) and Sooty Albatross or Peeoo also breed.
Mollies usually breed on the much flatter ground found on the lower mountain base and this sort of location is more commonly occupied by Sooty Albatross.
The photos give a unique Tristan perspective on the term 'birds eye view' perhaps? And what a view it is.