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Posted by Jeff Weber on 07:51:43 08/06/07
Who says summertime birding is a drag? While offshore fishing Saturday on the charter boat Dee Cee, out of Holiday Isle Marina, I spotted a shining white bird among the many Sooty Terns over a school of feeding Blackfin Tuna. We headed into the fray, where we quickly caught a couple of tuna for dinner. When the action slowed, I looked up again to see that the white bird was a WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD. It was about 70 yards away at this point, but as we watched, it approached us and circled directly over the boat at a height of about 30 feet, white tail streamers flashing in the sun. The location was about 15 miles due south of Islamorada.
The fishing was decent on Saturday, but the best catch of the day, by far, was the tropicbird. While I have seen all three tropicbirds in their proper regions, this is the only one I have for the ABA area, and it's the first I have seen since 1986, when I found two off Miami.
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