Couldn't believe my luck this evening on just my third frigatebird search since Martin came to town. After checking the Brazos River mouth and getting an extension of my birding time from my wife (thank God for cell phones), I went to the Quintana Jetty. As I got out of my car, there was the bird right in the middle of the channel escorting a shrimp boat out. Got my scope out as it worked by and got some great views. Saw it in the general area for the next 30 minutes. This bird (whatever it is) is VERY distinctive. What stands out the most at this point are the messed feathers in the vent area that appeared off-white to me. See Mark Bartosik's cropped shot posted to TexBirds. This stands out at great distances. It is even obvious as the bird flies directly away. One just has to look for a female frigatebird and then look for that mark set off by dark areas all around it. This can be done at a distance of about a mile I would guess. Then track it until hopefully it comes in close.

I watched the frigates for the next hour or so with Greg Lavaty and company not seeing the pink-billed bird. But we did note the behavoir of the frigates. They lounge around in the air along the beach and a dozen were even riding a shrimp boat outrigger. When a boat of significant size comes through the jetties, they suddenly appear. It seems almost like White-tailed Hawks finding a coastal burn. They pirate the gulls and terns working the wake of the boat and then they drift away again. The bigger the boat the better. Shrimp boats also appear to be favoriate targets and a few have been working the area. Interestingly, one fisherman told me four came down and starting taking their bait fish on the water in front of them.

This bird has now been seen on four dates of which I am aware. Mark Bartosik told me today he had the bird along Quintana Beach on the August 30th and on Labor Day. This bird seems to be hanging in the same area. If I really wanted to see this bird I would get my sun hat and buy some bait fish on my way to the jetties. Then I would find a spot on the jetty and feed the gulls (other junk food may work for them) to get a frenzy going and watch the skies. Talked with Martin tonight and we were speculating that the bird's ailments may be keeping this bird in relatively close quarters with known food sources. Martin has been studying the details of frigatebirds and commented that what has not been documented as yet is the relative size of the bird as compared to other frigatebirds. Some dorsal shots would also be helpful - however hard that might be. So take your cameras. The bird flew right by as I was phoning Brad Lirette and never came by for the video I wanted again.