Thanks for sharing that is an interesting sighting ... Gary Lefko, Nunn http://coloradobirder.ning.com/ Mobile: http://coloradobirder.ning.com/m
On Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 7:54:56 AM UTC-6, raptoresse wrote: > > Greetings COBIRDers: > > > > I have been haunted for a week by a sighting I had last Thursday, March > 24, the day after the Big Blizzard. I’ve hesitated to post this story for > fear of appearing to have completely lost my mind, but a few encouraging > subscribers, personal friends who are FAR better birders than myself, have > encouraged me to share the details. Having a huge raptor bias, I do better > with birds rather than small ones, but this one may take the cake: > > While driving home from Nebraska on 3/24, at precisely 2:15pm, and one > mile east of the Kersey Road exit, I think I saw an albatross. > > I was heading southwest towards Denver at freeway speed, and up ahead, > maybe ¼ of a mile away, on the north side of the interstate, flapping and > flying south, perhaps 200 ft overhead (though I think it dropped as it > crossed in front of me), I saw a bird that at first glance, looked like an > osprey. > > It was dark above, pure white/light below, and osprey-size. But going 80 > mph, I quickly caught up with it, and the wings and flapping were all > wrong. The wings were sharp, angled; the shape was more like a frigate > bird, or a tern, not a raptor (OK, maybe a swallow-tailed kite…that kind of > shape). It was a laboring flight, no soaring; it was the kind of flight > that looked like the bird could fall out of the sky at any moment. And > then, I realized the top of the bird was gray, not brown. > > It was similar to a gull gray; not a dark brown. The primaries were not > edged in black; I could see NO markings below. The tail didn’t stick out to > me….if it was any color other than white, I didn’t catch that. It crossed > over the highway, with a good view from my front windshield (vs. the > sunroof), and then I watched it from my left driver’s side window, continue > due south. > > The face was very similar to that of a gull, but with a longer, more > pronounced beak. I know that in that split second, I could see a long, > procellariiforme beak, just a bit lighter yellow than that of an adult bald > eagle. And, I distinctly saw a dark eye, with that gorgeous, smoky-eye > shadow wash that is typical of the Laysan albatross. > > Laysans: Wingspan is 77 to 80 inches, so 6.4 to 6.6 ft. Osprey wingspans > are listed 58 to 72 inches, (4.8 to 6 ft). So I believe my size estimate to > be accurate. Laysans are also described in Nat Geo as “casual inland in > winter and spring”, with most records being off central California. > Short-taileds are rarer, larger, and the top surfaces are not a solid > gray/black-ish, like the Laysan. > > Gulls: I grew up in San Francisco, I know what a gull looks like! Even > the big ones not found out here, like the western gull (wingspan 58 inches) > were smaller than what I saw. I saw its face, and while I totally admit > that I could have missed the red spot, I know the eye wasn’t yellow, and I > know I saw the dark feathers around the eye. > > I would love to know if there are any state records for any species of > albatross here in CO. If I had seen this bird any day other than after such > a violent storm with such strong winds, I would make an appointment and get > my eyes checked. Opinions, jibes, and all comments (both helpful and in > jest!) will be greatly appreciated! > > > > ~Anne Price > > Littleton, Jefferson Co. > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/b3d49421-f71e-45ed-a958-0b5ada3b689b%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
