There is something mystic about an albatross (think Rime of the Ancient Mariner) and seeing one is always special.

Most of my sightings have been from the deck during a pelagic boat trip. Sometimes the sightings aren’t quality as the bird appears and disappears among the swells. Fleeting and always leaving you wanting more.

On the island of Espanola, I was about to have one of the closest encounters with albatrosses anywhere.

As with the boobies, the albatross were tame and we often had to walk around them as they sat in the trails.

As we headed to Punta Suarez, an albatross dropped out of the air and made a rough landing. The male greeted his partner with head swerving, skypointing, bill-gapping, and bill fencing. Watching this from such close range made me feel like I was in a BBC documentary. Now all we need was Sir David Attenborough to narrate the behavior.

At Punta Suarez we paused to take in the sights and I had time to sketch the scene before me.