ML122728351

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Was unable to get automatic camera to focus and the bird was very far away, but hopefully this will help folks who want to verify the sighting and determine species.

Observation details

South of Tenney Park at approx 12:30 p.m., appeared to be near east side of the Yahara River. Was being chased southward by a red-tail hawk, away from Lake Mendota and toward Lake Monona. Estimated 40 to 60 feet aboveground. Distinctive V-shaped tail with two narrow branches of tail. Had contrasting dark and light coloring (appeared black and white but the angle of the sun could have influenced this). Most of body was dark, with light chest. Best guess would be an adult female or an immature magnificent frigatebird. Posted blurry photo (attached) to Wisconsin birding Facebook group for help with identification. Circled/flew in figure 8s as it was trying to dodge the hawk, so I was able to see it from several angles, although far away. When I first saw it (led to the sight by the hawk), my brain scrambled to figure out what it was. Great blue heron seemed unlikely because of the split tail (I considered a heron might have injured a leg and be flying with them apart, but there were other aspects of the flight and shape that didn't match what I have seen in flying herons), and the coloring didn't look right (this bird had a higher contrast between light and dark areas); also its turns or banking seemed narrower than the ones I usually see great blue herons make. Considered osprey based on darkness and location of the dark parts, but the tail was definitely not a match. The general agreement on the Facebook group was that this was a frigatebird. We also considered swallow-tailed kite, but rejected that based on the coloring.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

100

Focal length

268 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

926 pixels x 651 pixels

Original file size

221.18 KB