Frigate Birds

 

Liz had a bird’s eye view of a Frigate Bird this morning from our usual early morning (6 am) seat in the Crow’s Nest—I am usually 15 minutes after her so I missed it. But where there is one there will be more, and I hope to see them soon. The bird had landed on a piece of our prow and stayed there until another Frigate bird came in to land, then the first flew off, and the second shortly thereafter.  No, she did not get an image. 

Frigate birds are rather amazing long haul flyers.  They soar and glide for great distances, and are able to stay aloft for months, and can sleep while airborne. They nest in low vegetation, where they can land and take off directly from the nest site. Frigatebirds catch near surface fish (such as flyingp fish in mid-flight), and harass other sea birds to force them to disgorge their catch, which is then caught in mid-air by the frigatebirds.  They cannot land in the sea nor take-off from the sea.