Short-tailed Albatrosses George and Geraldine are back on Midway Atoll

George and Geraldine (right) on Midway Atoll during the 2024/2025 breeding season, photograph by Joe Owen

The well-known pair of Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus are back on Midway Atoll in the North Pacific.  In late October 2026, wildlife officials confirmed that the two birds have returned for their 10th straight year as a pair on Midway’s Sand Island.

George and Geraldine were both banded as chicks on Japan’s Torishima.  They were first seen together on Midway in 2016 and raised their first chick during the 2018/19 breeding season.  The two birds have successfully raised and fledged at least five chicks, with no success in the 2024/25 season. They bred again in 2025/26, when a total of eight different individuals was recorded on the atoll, three of which were offspring of the breeding pair.

They remain the only Short-tailed Albatrosses that breed within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, although their returning offspring may commence breeding on Midwayin time.

Watch the pair mutually preening in a short video clip by USFWS volunteer Dan Rapp.

Access previous articles on George and Geraldine in ACAP Latest News here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 November 2026