Hey bird experts ...

Gene Neill

Gene Neill

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Sep 30, 2013
3,551
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
We were anchored in the boondocks the other night, playing gin rummy in the cabin, when I heard this loud "whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound coming from the stern. I looked up from my cards and just a few feet away, a big tern of some kind was helicoptering right above the transom! Darned if he didn't proceed to land right on the top of the Magma kettle grill.

(Wife: "Great. Now he's gonna poop on the grill.")

He sat there, looking at us looking at him. I stuck my arm out the companionway and took a picture with my iPhone, and to my astonishment he never moved, despite the flash. I moved out into the cockpit, as nonchalantly as possible, and spent a couple minutes sidling closer to him. He looked really large in person. I was actually a little nervous about getting so close to him. Finally I was sitting arm's length from him and said what the heck, I'm going for the gusto here. I stood up, reached out, and picked him up as if he were a parrot! I sat back down gently and talked to him for quite a while, before he seemed to get tired of keeping his balance on my hand. When he finally flew away, he actually came back a few minutes later and hovered some more before leaving us for good.

It was just a really, really cool experience. Can anyone positively ID this birdie?


 
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Roland5048

Roland5048

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May 12, 2004
1,505
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
I'd say that's a laughing gull. It was looking for a hand-out and you obliged.
 
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,501
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
From the pictures looks like @Kings Gambit nailed the test. An immature Royal Tern.
Probably out looking for a little companionship.
Looks like you are making new friends. A little avian to human diplomacy. There is always a first encounter. Kind a makes me wonder what she said back on the beach.

“Yeah, I was swooping around when I found this log like thing to rest on. Then this monster approach’s. I saw this bright flash. Blinded. The next thing you know I’m hearing these strange sounds and the thing is feeling my feet. I felt so violated. Then it was all over and I flew away. What do you think it means?”

Neat experience Gene.
 
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Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

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Oct 19, 2017
7,775
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
That is awesome. I love birds and bird encounters like that.
I've heard a lot of stories of birds landing on a sailboat out at sea and staying for a while. This is the first I've heard of one being that friendly.
Maybe an escapee from the Virginia Beach Aquarium who was feeling a little institutionalized. To bad you didn't have a can of sardines or you might have a new mascot.

Kings Gambit is right, it is a tern. Everyone should have a Sibley on board for just this kind of occasion


-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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agprice22

agprice22

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Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
Many years ago, my wife and I were sitting in our living room when we heard a tapping on the sliding glass door at the rear of the room. We looked out and found a pigeon on the deck, trying to get in. We watched him for a moment and saw he had a metal ring on one leg. The ring had a number on it. We did not know what to do or what it meant, so we called Cornell Cooperative, and they said we were being visited by a tired homing pigeon. They said we should offer water, and that he would leave when he was rested. We gave him water, and he rested a while. He was completely comfortable in our presence. After an hour, he flew off to complete his journey.
 
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jon hansen

jon hansen

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May 25, 2012
4,338
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
sibley's and a pair of binoculars are always on my side stand next to my favorite chair.
 
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Gene Neill

Gene Neill

.
Sep 30, 2013
3,551
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
jssailem said:
From the pictures looks like @Kings Gambit nailed the test. An immature Royal Tern.
Click to expand
I was thinking royal tern also ... and there's no way all three of us geniuses can be wrong. He only had a little bit of a crest (not visible in the photo), which might be explained by him being a juvenile.

For those familiar with Little Shark River, we were just above there, in Ponce De Leon Bay ... forty miles from the nearest human habitation. His prior human contact was likely minimal at best.

I was giddy as a schoolgirl afterward. Told my wife I am obviously a bird whisperer, and he's my new spirit animal. ;)

Ironically, his (presumed) scientific name, Thalasseus maximus, means "greatest fisherman" ... and I couldn't catch a fish if I were in a seafood market. :laugh:
 
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Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,054
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
I used to do a lot of "active" spotting of seabirds in CA. Not much now. I used Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds of which I still have my first copy circa 1975. Terns are fairly easy to recognize as a group (as you did), but sight identification to species is always a bit tenuous unless one is a practiced expert. It's a very heart-warming photo.:waycool:
 
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Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

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Oct 19, 2017
7,775
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
:plus: for Peterson's.
They were my first and favourite guides. They taught you things about the subject beyond simple identification. The drawings for their plant identification guides are often better than the photos of thew Audubon guides because they highlight the identifying features better.
The Sibley, I find, has a better range of pictures for gender, age and season, when it comes to birds.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,054
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
I also use Peterson's Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, and have my first copy of that as well.
 
Roland5048

Roland5048

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May 12, 2004
1,505
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,501
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Shame...
You guys are just messing what for @Gene Neill was a beautiful moment...
The Bird Whisperer...
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
jssailem said:
Shame...
You guys are just messing what for @Gene Neill was a beautiful moment...
The Bird Whisperer...
Click to expand
I’m actually impressed with Gene. So many memorable moments made up his memorable moment.
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I still think he should have waited.
 
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,501
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Kermie... I know it was subtle but I caught the gist. I also liked the timing...
I’m going to go back and give you a Like....
 
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