Greetings COBIRDers:
I have been haunted for a week by a sighting I had last Thursday, March 24, the day after the Big Blizzard. I’ve hesitated to post this story for fear of appearing to have completely lost my mind, but a few encouraging subscribers, personal friends who are FAR better birders than myself, have encouraged me to share the details. Having a huge raptor bias, I do better with birds rather than small ones, but this one may take the cake:
While driving home from Nebraska on 3/24, at precisely 2:15pm, and one mile east of the Kersey Road exit, I think I saw an albatross.
I was heading southwest towards Denver at freeway speed, and up ahead, maybe ¼ of a mile away, on the north side of the interstate, flapping and flying south, perhaps 200 ft overhead (though I think it dropped as it crossed in front of me), I saw a bird that at first glance, looked like an osprey.
It was dark above, pure white/light below, and osprey-size. But going 80 mph, I quickly caught up with it, and the wings and flapping were all wrong. The wings were sharp, angled; the shape was more like a frigate bird, or a tern, not a raptor (OK, maybe a swallow-tailed kite…that kind of shape). It was a laboring flight, no soaring; it was the kind of flight that looked like the bird could fall out of the sky at any moment. And then, I realized the top of the bird was gray, not brown.
It was similar to a gull gray; not a dark brown. The primaries were not edged in black; I could see NO markings below. The tail didn’t stick out to me….if it was any color other than white, I didn’t catch that. It crossed over the highway, with a good view from my front windshield (vs. the sunroof), and then I watched it from my left driver’s side window, continue due south.
The face was very similar to that of a gull, but with a longer, more pronounced beak. I know that in that split second, I could see a long, procellariiforme beak, just a bit lighter yellow than that of an adult bald eagle. And, I distinctly saw a dark eye, with that gorgeous, smoky-eye shadow wash that is typical of the Laysan albatross.
Laysans: Wingspan is 77 to 80 inches, so 6.4 to 6.6 ft. Osprey wingspans are listed 58 to 72 inches, (4.8 to 6 ft). So I believe my size estimate to be accurate. Laysans are also described in Nat Geo as “casual inland in winter and spring”, with most records being off central California. Short-taileds are rarer, larger, and the top surfaces are not a solid gray/black-ish, like the Laysan.
Gulls: I grew up in San Francisco, I know what a gull looks like! Even the big ones not found out here, like the western gull (wingspan 58 inches) were smaller than what I saw. I saw its face, and while I totally admit that I could have missed the red spot, I know the eye wasn’t yellow, and I know I saw the dark feathers around the eye.
I would love to know if there are any state records for any species of albatross here in CO. If I had seen this bird any day other than after such a violent storm with such strong winds, I would make an appointment and get my eyes checked. Opinions, jibes, and all comments (both helpful and in jest!) will be greatly appreciated!
~Anne Price
Littleton, Jefferson Co.
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