I’m not a bird watcher (birder), not that there’s anything wrong with that. What I mean is, I don’t actively search for particular bird species nor do I keep a list of the birds I’ve seen. Having said that, I do enjoy identifying birds when I see them. I know enough about birds to recognize an unusual bird for the area or a rarely seen bird.

When I see an unusual bird, I try to take a few minutes to memorize its size, shape, color and distinctive markings. I may have an idea of what it is, but once I’ve memorized its features, later I look it up in Peterson’s Field Guide. Sometimes, once I’m fairly certain of the identification, I’ll find additional information on the Web.

Yesterday, while Donna and I were eating lunch outside, a large bird zipped by overhead. I got up and walked to the back of our coach where I watched it soar over De Anza Cove. It rose quickly on an updraft, then wheeled about making sharp turns as it crisscrossed the cove before it soared away to the south. I don’t think it beat its wings once during the few minutes that I watched it. It was riding the wind expertly.

Donna asked me what it was. I told her it didn’t make sense, but I was pretty sure it was an albatross. I’ve never seen an albatross fly over land in southern California. I’ve only seen them when I was on a boat miles off the coast.

I estimated the bird had a wingspan in excess of six feet. Its body was disproportionately short from head to tail. The tail was so short, in fact, that its feet extended under the tail in flight. After lunch, I broke out my  field guide and looked it up. It was a Laysan albatross.

Laysan albatross – wikipedia photo

Wikipedia photo

Ninety-nine percent of the Laysan albatross breeding population is found in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These birds spend more than half the year out to sea. They can process sea water, removing the salt through a special nostril in their bill. When breeding season comes around, they return to an island to breed. They often forget how to land on the ground after months at sea and land clumsily. The oldest known Laysan albatross is a female named Wisdom, that’s estimated to be 63 years old. She was banded at an estimated age of five, 58 years ago.

I did a little research and found that a small breeding colony is found along the Revillagigedo Islands, about 240 miles southwest of the tip of Baja California. That could be where this bird came from, but who knows. They spend many months at sea and can end up almost anywhere in the north Pacific ocean. I’m guessing the storm that came through southern California on Tuesday and Wednesday blew this bird in.

This was the second time I was surprised to find an unusual bird here at Mission Bay. I posted a picture of a peregrine falcon I saw perched on a pole here.

I really enjoy spotting and identifying rare or unusual birds. Maybe I’m more of a birder than I think I am.

By the way, one of my favorite instrumental songs is Albatross, by the original Fleetwood Mac featuring Peter Green.