Number of accepted Red-billed Tropicbird records for Louisiana = 6 as of 25th Report of the LBRC (2022)
One adult (96-41) on 9 June 1996, Gulf of Mexico: approx. 13 mi. SE mouth of South Pass of the
Mississippi River, 28°32.1'N, 88° 36.3'W; Dwight E. Peake, Richard H. Peake (ph only), B. Mac Myers
III (ph) (FN 50(5):960; LOS 175; LOS 176).
One adult (97-58) on 24 May 1997; Gulf of Mexico: 47 mi. SSW of Venice, 28° 14’ N, 89° 30’ W; Phillip Wallace (ph), Robert D. Purrington, John P. Sevenair (ph in FN), Joseph P. Kleiman, and David P. Muth (ph only); FN 51(4): 881.
One adult (97-36) on 13 Sep 1997; Gulf of Mexico: 50 mi. S of Southwest Pass Mississippi River, 28° 12’ 53” N, 89° 27’ 21” W; Daniel F. Lane (sketch), M. J Babin (ph), R. D. Purrington, Phillip Wallace (ph), John P. Sevenair (ph), and Joseph P. Kleiman (ph only); FN 52(1): 72.
One immature male (2004-59) on 29 Sep 2004, Gulf of Mexico: 39.4 mi. SSE South Pass
Mississippi River, 28°30'03.5"N, 88°50'15.9"W, Steven W. Cardiff (LSUMZ 177126) and
Donna L. Dittmann (*); first sighted by David P. Muth. This record was inexplicably not
included with other regional tropicbird reports in NAB59(1):90, but a report therein of a
“Wilson’s Storm-Petrel,” noted as “Louisiana’s 5th specimen,” from the same date and location
almost certainly pertains to this tropicbird record as no Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were found on
that trip and, at that time, there were many more than 5 specimens of Wilson’s Storm-Petrel from
Louisiana waters.
One adult with tail streamers (1998-142) on 15 October 1998, Gulf of Mexico: South Marsh Island 147 oil platform, N28.227763o W92.016612o; Stacy Jon Peterson (ph). This becomes the fourth accepted state occurrence.
One juvenile (2021-058) on 26 July 2021, Gulf of Mexico: N28.619783o W88.968950o; John Dillon (ph) and Paul E. Conover (ph). This represents only the sixth accepted state occurrence.
One in Juvenal plumage (2011-117) on 3 September 2011, Orleans: New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain off intersection of
Canal Blvd.and Lakeshore Dr. This bird was observed briefly at relatively long distances without aid of a scope under poor
viewing conditions during the passage of Tropical Storm Lee. When combined with the inexperience of the reporting observer
with seabirds, and the description of the bird’s behavior, most Members were reluctant to accept what would have represented Louisiana’s first occurrence of a storm-blown tropicbird.
One adult (2017-078) on 22 December 2017, Gulf of Mexico: open ocean, exact location unknown but
somewhere north of N25.777590o, W89.869890o. All Members agreed that the submitted documentation was
insufficient for acceptance, especially for a winter occurrence from a vague location.
One adult (2018-043) on 20 August 2018, Gulf of Mexico: Carnival Breeze Cruise 8/20/18 Leg 3/20 start
of survey at N26.751o, W90.307o (heading SE towards Key West). All Members were in agreement that
circumstances (brief observation at 0.5 mi. distance) did not allow adequate studies and that the resulting
superficial description was not sufficient for acceptance.
One adult (2019-073) on 17 August 2019, Gulf of Mexico: approximately 140 mi. SE Southwest Pass
Mississippi River on Carnival Cruise ship Glory at N27.012o, W88.535o. A close decision on a potential fifth state occurrence, with the minority of Members willing to accept that the bird was definitely a tropicbird and that the supporting details could only be interpreted as supporting an identification as Red-billed. However, a majority of Members were uneasy about the brevity, distance, viewing angles, and lack of supporting photos.
This represents the first record for Louisiana.
This is the fourth accepted record and first specimen for Louisiana.
Video still by Stacy Jon Peterson
Photo by Paul ConoverUnaccepted Records