Date: 7/21/26 9:20 pm From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Lesser Frigatebird at sunset
Just after official sunset--so around 8:05--the frigatebird was circling over downtown La Jolla or somewhere near there--the inexactness due to my scoping at the time south from Scripps Pier area and it is not easy to get an accurate idea of actual distance to where the bird actually is, whereas direction is easy. If, in fact, the bird was on the other side of downtown then it would be along the coast approximately near the end of Pearl. Or it was closer, actually over buildings. If the former, then it is remarkably close to where it was seen just after 8PM back on 12 July--the initial sighting in this latest series. So perhaps it is roosting on at least a somewhat regular basis in that more southern-central coastal part of La Jolla--if in fact it is landing in a tree or whatever for the night and not simply just circling around all night long. But I did look briefly for the bird the following morning (13th) right after dawn where it had been seen late on the 12th, with no luck, and I've spent hours seawatching at La Jolla Cove on two different mornings since then, with no luck. Maybe the bird goes north some days to the Del Mar area, and maybe some days it goes south to the Point Loma area, where it was seen and photographed on the 19th. Or maybe it goes both directions some days....
Clearly it would help if folks spread out at least from Solana Beach south to Point Loma.
I would assume this bird is the same individual that was in southern Orange County and at the San Diego County line back in late May. And that there is a reasonable chance that it's the same bird that was here in San Diego County in February 2025. All involve an adult female with a more grayish rather than the more standard (??) pinkish-hued bill.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
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