Red-billed Tropicbird Returns to the Florida Panhandle for its Ninth Consecutive Year

Birds are recognized to wander to unlikely locations. Sometimes called vagrants, these feathered vacationers stray removed from their regular vary, often as a result of climate occasions, navigational errors, or modifications of their atmosphere. On March 18, 2017, Pensacola Seaside welcomed an unlikely vagrant to its crystal-clear, emerald waters; a Pink-billed Tropicbird!

When this chicken was first discovered, it was famous that this was an grownup chicken “…with a particularly lengthy tail, pink invoice, darkish marking behind eye nearly to nape and darkish barring on again,” suggesting that it was already no less than two years outdated, since this species good points their grownup plumage after two to 3 years. The lengthy tail streamers prompt it was a male. The Pink-billed Tropicbird was reported at Shoreline Park over 160 occasions on eBird in 2017 over a three-month interval, and birders flocked to the realm from throughout for an opportunity at seeing this uncommon seabird! It was unclear why the tropicbird strayed so removed from its typical breeding grounds on scattered islands within the heat waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

When early spring 2018 got here round this species was as soon as once more noticed floating in the midst of Pensacola Bay. It grew to become apparent that this was the identical returning chicken, maybe growing an uncommon migratory sample: a traditional case of persistent vagrancy, which indicated the tropicbird had a robust connection to this location, presumably pushed by favorable situations like excessive meals abundance. 12 months after 12 months, the Pink-billed Tropicbird continued to point out up proper round mid-March, stayed for a number of weeks after which departing for the 12 months.

This spring, I lastly bought to expertise this for myself. Reviews had already began circling the native birding group that the tropicbird was again, marking its ninth consecutive 12 months. On April 10, 2025, a typical Thursday morning, I used to be conducting imperiled beach-nesting chicken surveys on Pensacola Seaside. I arrived at my final survey website, which occurred to be close to the tropicbird’s typical hangout spot, and noticed Least Terns circling a historic nesting space. Unannounced, out got here none aside from “Troppy” himself flying proper over my head, exhibiting off his comically lengthy tail streamers as he bounced throughout the sky with magnificence! He swirled over the realm as I stood there in awe earlier than lastly snapping a number of pictures. On its remaining move, it let loose a name I’ll always remember, a tern-like shrill with a sequence of rattles on the finish. The entire expertise solely lasted a couple of minutes, however left such a long-lasting impression on me. A very unforgettable second.

A textual content excerpt taken from the web Audubon Bird Guide states: “Widespread in components of the Caribbean, the Pink-billed Tropicbird very hardly ever strays to waters off Florida or elsewhere within the east,” highlighting simply how uncommon of a phenomenon it’s for a Pink-billed Tropicbird to return to Pensacola Bay waters yearly. I hope to welcome it again come spring 2026.