Light-mantled albatrosses nest on cliffs, tucked on tiny ledges, exposed to the elements. There is a nest just across the cove from us on the island, and we’ve been watching this little one grow up. For weeks an adult sat on the nest, through blistering southerlies, pounding northerlies that stirred the sea up to smash along the shore and throw spray high into the air, and the gentle days of no wind that sometimes drift through in the subantarctic. About a month ago, I spied a small grey fluffy thing underneath the adult when it sat up briefly, and a few weeks ago this little ball of fluff was left alone while both parents go to sea to find food. Growing is hungry business. With only a few weeks left on island, we won’t get to see this little one grow up to fledge, but it is growing very rapidly! A daily dose of cute fluff-ball chick is a wonderful thing to have just outside the front door.