Running Toward the Hurricane for Bird Watching

It wasn’t the exchange I expected.

Hurricane Irene was making waves in Washington D.C. and like thousands of others, my “flying home” situation was becoming much more complicated. So when a fellow lobby patron asked a question, I was caught a little off-guard.

“Are you staying for the bird watching?”

“Um, no. What…?”

While I was trying to get out of there and people across the Eastern seaboard were evacuating to get out of Irene's path, this unknown adventurer and his partner in crime were ready to depart to watch birds, I’m assuming.

I had to know more. I turned to the concierge first but he and I only exchanged similarly baffled expressions. Before labeling this guy crazy, I decided to turn to the all-knowing with a capital G: Google. 

As it turns out, hurricane season is prime time bird watching weather. But because of habitat destruction, food stripping and debris, it may also cost hundreds of thousands of birds’ lives.

So in honor of the fallen, meet the Red-billed Tropicbird.

While the tropicbird does not nest in the estuary, it is a pelagic bird that occasionally stops by during non-mating season. And pelagic birds, or oceanic birds, are what many bird watchers are hoping to catch a sight of.

Here’s how it works.

With strong storm surges careening across the open sea, birds can be pushed very far off course. Unlike the cows in Twister though, these birds become trapped in the eye of the storm like Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. One blogger aptly likened the effect to a birdcage, only setting them free once the winds die down.

Some trapped for hundreds of miles, ‘hurricane birds’ are reverently observed by watchers like the guy in the lobby, who, without the extreme weather, may never have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of rarities like the tropicbird.

Luckily for us Imperial Beachians, a hurricane isn’t necessary to catch a glimpse of these uncommon fliers. While nesting areas can be as far away as Hawaii, sightings off the California coast, including within the estuary, are possible, albeit rare.

And if you’re lucky enough, they are quite a sight. Their black wing tips and eye markings are beautifully juxtaposed with a snowy white coat. The namesake, their red bill, gives the bird an almost burlesque air. Perhaps most visually striking are its two gracefully long tail feathers.

It was the bird’s looks that motivated the Bermudas to make a couple of people mad several years ago. While the white-billed tropicbird nests locally on the islands, the red-billed tropicbird looked better against the pale, yellow background of their $50 bill. Amidst rebuke from local orthinologists, they stuck with the flashier flier.  

Rare sightings of the red-billed tropicbird have been recorded during the fall in the estuary so get your binoculars ready. If you're an avid San Diego bird watcher who is willing to drop some dough, partaking in a pelagic bird tour on the open water could get you closer to this seafarer's preferred hunting grounds.