Birdwatchers aboard a seabird tour off the coast of Sonoma and Marin counties over the weekend are the first people in U.S. waters to spot a species of albatross that normally lives near the Galapagos Islands, according to local experts.

Sporting a bold white head, long yellow bill and massive wingspan nearing eight feet, the waved albatross was spotted Sunday afternoon by about two dozen people on the 65-foot New Sea Angler during an open ocean trip to observe sea birds.

Tour leader and longtime member of the Redwood Region Ornithological Society Peter Colasanti said it is the first-ever documented sighting of the bird north of Costa Rica.

“The experience was absolute bedlam,” Colasanti said in a phone call Tuesday.

“This is a bird that is critically endangered, it’s glamourous, it’s

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