The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Firstly, this is not a wind-up - given the date,

At about 10 o/clock this morning Linda was driving towards Brigg on the Caistor road and as she approached Bigby hill, she said to herself 'what the hell is that!' A large slim dark bird with long angular wings flew across the road ahead of her heading south, in fact she said it was gliding rather than flapping. The bird was definitely not a Buzzard, Red Kite or any other known raptor and the first thing that came to Linda's mind was a Frigatebird as she had seen plenty on the wing when we visited Little Tobago just over a year ago.
Aware of the fact that a sighting of this species in this part of the world is highly unlikely the only other possibility we considered was that it might have been a Skua, which in itself would be most unusual in this area at this time. Having looked at Skua pictures Linda still maintains that what she saw was more like a Frigatebird than anything else.

I was reminded that someone in Huddersfield was confident that they had seen a Frigatebird a couple if years ago but, of course, it could not be verified.

Some strong winds were blowing from the south yesterday, so who knows!

Regards,
Roy

Could it have been a Cormorant?

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I remember a magnificent frigatebird being found dead in a farmers field in 2005 just after I had come back from St Lucia where I had seen my first. It was blown across on strong winds presumably.

I'd be very grateful if you'd nip out first thing and relocate it Roy !!

Phil

Katherine, certainly not a Cormorant.

Phil, I have been out this afternoon but it's pretty futile. I didn't get the news until Linda got back from the shops over two hours later -
she doesn't have a mobile 'phone.

Not nearly as unusual inland I know, but a Leach's Petrel has been on a reservoir in Bedfordshire all day.

Regards,
Roy

If anyone is in the area this weekend, then it might be worthwhile having a word with the fishermen at Manor Farm Fishing Lakes, Manton near Messingham, which held a special appeal for a mega in N.Lincs in July 2007...... and the lakes are not far from the Brigg area as Albatrosses and Frigatebirds fly.

If a bird the size of a Yellow-nosed Albatross can fly in under the radar and escape the attention of the birding fraternity in Lincs, then one supposes a Frigatebird could certainly do likewise.

( See Steve Keightley's post/follow-up posts on LBC Bird Reports 11/12 July 2007).

Freddy