Frigatebird Sp.; Leelenau County; Saturday, September 19

[John Lowry]

Some on the list may be aware that a frigatebird was sighted last week  
just south of Cleveland, OH.

On Sep 21, 2008, at 10:15 PM, Larry Burke wrote:

>
> I received a phone call from my brother this evening reporting that  
> he saw a
> frigatebird on Saturday, September 19 while fishing on Lake Leelenau  
> with
> three friends.
>
> The sighting occurred at about 5:00 p.m., at which time the weather
> conditions were sunny and bright with a slight overcast.  My brother  
> noticed
> the bird flying toward his boat in a south-to-north direction.  The
> unusualness of the bird was not immediately apparent as my brother  
> initially
> thought it was just another Great Blue Heron.  That it was not a GBH  
> became
> more apparent as the bird approached.  It flew directly over his  
> boat.  He
> told me that he only saw the underside as it flew over at a height he
> estimated at about 300 feet.  He said that the plumage was all black  
> and
> that it had a somewhat longish bill, long and narrow wings and a  
> long and
> very narrow tail.  The two "forks" of the tail remained close  
> together; the
> bird did not spread them in "V" fashion.  It continued in a northerly
> direction.  The bird reportedly did not flap its wings even once  
> while in
> sight.  It appeared to be moving its head, looking from side to  
> side.  My
> brother's boat mate also saw the bird.  The other two guys in the  
> second
> boat saw it was well.  When the bird had flown on, one of the  
> fellows in the
> other boat called my brother on his cell phone and asked: "What the  
> h---
> kind of bird was that!?!?"
>
> My brother has been interested in birds for many years.  I have  
> birded with
> him on numerous occasions.  He has seen Magnificent Frigatebirds on  
> fishing
> trips to south Florida, so he knows what a frigatebird looks like.
>
> It would be nice if someone else has the good fortune of seeing this  
> bird
> and, ideally, lending credence to my brother's sighting.  Good luck  
> on that.
>
> Good birding,
>
> Larry Burke
>
>
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John Lowry
Hamburg Twp
Livingston County
john at kingbird.org