ID this large bird

[kach22i]

ID this large bird

It was huge, eagle sized.

I turned around and parked on the side of the road. It was a nasty ruffled bird, some kind of vulture I suspect, eagles don't let themselves go like that. Do they?

Turkey Vulture?

Spotted in SE Michigan, what is it?

[TerryH]

your guess is likely correct and your pictures lack a lot

[RWebb]

if you saw it fly and the wings formed an upright "V" shape, then highly likely that it was a TV

[MBAtarga]

swallow - can't say whether is African or European though!

[kach22i]

It's a larger Kite or Falcon species.

Don't think it's an eagle, hawk or vulture.

[dogtrainer]

its a vulture you can tell by the shape of the wing.

[afterburn 549]

Originally Posted by dogtrainer

its a vulture you can tell by the shape of the wing.

Nope

[bell]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

swallow - can't say whether is African or European though!

how do you tell if it's an African swallow?

[afterburn 549]

It is of the gull / Turn family

[widgeon13]

That was Nancy Pelosi on her way to Washington DC!

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

It is of the gull / Turn family

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

(Unladen, obviously)

[ramonesfreak]

looks like the turkey vultures we have around here..which to me sort of look like a cross between a hawk and a crow...pointy heads...i have seem some very large ones but most are really not very impressive compared to say, an eagle

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

It is of the gull / Turn family

I thinking like you, a guy at another car forum who was the first to ID my Carolina Wren in Michigan a couple of years ago said this:

http://carnuts.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2268

Originally Posted by Roopull

I'm still thinking albatross.

One detail; As I started to walk around the barn to get a side angle shot I hear a loud thwacking sound, drew my camera up and snapped the shot of the open wings.

If it were kite/falcon talons, I might have heard a sharp scraping or scratching noise.

Web feet might go thwap.

[ramonesfreak]

it does look like a shore bird as it sits there. like a black seagull . its shape and head as it flies looks like a TV. maybe its a seavulture

[kach22i]

Cut 'n Paste from the other thread.

Originally Posted by Roopull

How big would you guesstimate the wingspan was?

Not as hard as guessing the size and speed of a flying saucer, but if I tell you there may be the same level of disbelief.

Easily over six feet, in my excitement it looked to be closer to seven+, but keep in mind I only saw half of it (one wing).

I went back this morning with my wife's Canon Rebel, I really wish I had this camera instead of my tiny seven year old Pentax Optio S4.




I took pictures of the typical birds of prey just down the road from the possible albatross sighting, not bad detail, but not mind blowing amazing either.

[kach22i]

immature black footed albatross
http://orcawatcher.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

...................seven foot wingspan

A west coast bird in Michigan?

http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/seabirds.html

http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/Photos/Seabirds/BFAL2.jpg

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/whatsnew/events/robbins/photo_gallery.cfm

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/whatsnew/events/robbins/photo_gallery.cfm

Lost bird......................
http://www.birdinghawaii.co.uk/XBFAlbatross2.htm

The Black-footed Albatross (Diomedia nigripes) is one of two species of Albatross that nests annually in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of three that occur regularly in the North Pacific (the other species being Laysan and Short-tailed Albatrosses). Although breeding birds are limited to the Northwest Chain and Lehua Rock, individuals can frequently be seen from the Main Island of Kaua'i and occasionally O'ahu and Hawai'i.

[QUOTE]


Recap

[Super_Dave_D]

That kind of looks like the bird I have flying by my place - can you ID this one?

[p930man]

We call those Turkey Buzzards or Democrats down her in Texas.

p930man

[sammyg2]

It might have been a pa-teradactyl .......

[kach22i]

I was looking in the birds eye, it had a worried look, not bird of prey or vulture like at all. Funny that I can recall the eyes better that the beek.

Long slender wings, skinny short legs, and a horizontal not vertical stance.

Back to the charts.

http://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Bird_Wing_Types.htm


http://cacondorconservation.org/content/did-you-see-a-california-condor-let-us-know/


http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/birds/eagles/


http://www-scf.usc.edu/~tchklovs/Proposal.htm


EDIT:
Two experts which have been contacted.

The one expert at U of M thinks it's a turkey vulture:

......they have bare, red heads. It may be nesting in the barn. If you look at the one of it flying, you can see the lighter feathers on the trailing edge of the wing. This is distinctive, as is the V shape of the wings when soaring.

I don't remember a red head or any other vulture like thing except the ruffled condition, and he photos at the barn don't have any color to speak of. Also the slight lighting of feathers is seen on the black footed albatross Internet photos and illustrations.

The second expert at Oregon State said;

Basically, I can't tell from this photo..............(but if I had to choose, I'd choose vulture- again a lot of the other raptors aren't likely to sit on a barn like that)..............But birds do get way lost- you never know!

Also said:
.....contact the local Audubon society for some help with identification- if there was a wild sighting like an albatross, they'd know about it, and they'll know what the most likely local possibilities are.

I've driven this into the ground for now, I may contact the local Audubon society but have picked up a little work, so I gotta go chase the money right now.