Date: 5/25/26 9:31 pm From: Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] An addendum to my post on the frigatebird
Tom,
I don't know anything about the Santa Monica frigatebird report as I don't
see anything in eBird, Discord, or the LACO listserv. That being said, the
OC frigatebird was first observed last Wednesday, May 20. If there was any
doubt, I received photos of the original sighting and verified that the
Wednesday bird was, in fact, the same bird being reported through the
weekend.
On Mon, May 25, 2026, 8:09 PM <tgmiko...> via groups.io <tgmiko=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi Stan,
> There was an Ebird report of a Magnificent Frigatebird seen from Santa
> Monica last week. I still haven’t checked to see if that report clashes
> with when the Lesser Frigatebird was seen off the coast of OC. My initial
> reaction has been that I suspect (with no photos to accept or reject the
> Null Hypothesis) that the Santa Monica bird was, in fact, the OC Leaser
> Frigatebird. In other words, the OC bird could now be at Hussong’s
> Cantina, sipping a Corona, or it could be sitting on a cedar at Big Bear
> Lake.
> Tom
>
> Thomas Geza Miko
> Claremont CA 91711
> 909.241.3300
>
> On Mon, May 25, 2026 at 7:55 PM Stan Walens via groups.io <stan.walens=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>>
>> We all assumed that the bird might have been quartering low over the
>> Trestles area because it was looking for a place to roost.
>>
>>
>>
>> But that is a very hilly area. Frigatebirds are capable of flying all
>> night long, and the bird—well-fed after hanging around fishing boats for
>> days—may have been looking for an onshore wind pushing the air upwards
>> against the hillsides that would enable it to gain altitude.
>> So it may still be around…or it may be hundreds of miles away…..
>>
>> I intend to keep looking for it. Elsewhere, of course.
>>
>> Stan Walens, San Diego
>>
>>
>
