Shy Albatross

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Shy Albatross at stays in or beside Addo Elephant National Park, Table Mountain National Park, Kogelberg Nature Reserve, Tsitsikamma National Park, Garden Route National Park and Robberg Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Shy Albatross is most recorded in Western Cape (90% of records), Eastern Cape (10% of records), based on 58 iNaturalist observations. 16 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Shy Albatross on site or nearby.

The Shy Albatross is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Addo Elephant National Park: year-round, best Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Table Mountain National Park: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Kogelberg Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Tsitsikamma National Park: Apr-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta) is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

The shy albatross, also known as shy mollymawk, (Thalassarche cauta, formerly Diomedea cauta), is a medium-sized albatross that breeds on three remote islands off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, in the southern Indian Ocean. Its lifespan is about 60 years, and it has been seen as far afield as South Africa and the Pacific coast of the United States.