Frigatebird

Today I got my coolest birthday present imaginable: a frigatebird at St. Joseph, Tiscornia Park. Received the call upon waking up and was pleased to see that the bird which had been found in flight 1-2 miles out over Lake Michigan had come in to land on the lighthouse!! Upon arrival it was still there, where it sat for a few hours before taking flight and putting on quite the aerial show.

I believe the bird is an adult male, either Magnificent Frigatebird (leaning to based on size) or Ascension Frigatebird, both of which lack alar bars (which the Berrien bird clearly does). Of course, as there are no ABA area records of Ascension, I would assume this bird is most likely Magnificent, but need to do some more research before calling it with certainty. I will say the this bird felt every bit as large as the Magnificents I have seen in Florida and Belize and the Caribbea Here are my best photos and video clips of this incredible record. (and a big thanks to Tim Baerwald for getting the word out yet again!)











Today I