Carried on the winds of Hurricane Wilma, their primitive shape eerily reminiscent of pre-historic pterodactyls, Magnificent Frigatebirds have been spotted in the Bermudian skies.

On average only one of these birds is sighted above the Island in any two-year period, yet this week there has been as many as 60 or 70 hovering over shallow water seeking a tasty fish to replenish their strength having been blown 1,000 miles from their nests in Florida.

The Frigatebirds are the lucky ones. Seabirds in general fair better than land birds when they caught by huge storm systems like Hurricane Wilma, which battered the Cancun peninsula of Mexico and Florida before sweeping out across the Atlantic passing less than 300 miles to the west of Bermuda on Tuesday morning. Many land birds and migrant species are likely to have drowned in the thousands of miles of open sea between the US mainland and the Island.

?Hurricane Wilma moved quickly across Florida and northwards between Bermuda and the US East Coast, bringing unprecedented numbers of seabirds,? said Andrew Dobson, President of the Bermuda Audubon Society.

?Between 60 and 70 Magnificent Frigatebirds have been observed around the Island, including one flock of 41 birds near Wreck Hill in Somerset.

?These huge seabirds are common in southern Florida but are rarely sighted in Bermuda. Sandwich Terns are also unusual. They are not recorded every year and the maximum seen together was three, until this week.

?On Wednesday, more than 60 Sandwich Terns were recorded. At least ten Royal Terns have also arrived.?

The fate of land birds blown out to sea will not have been so good, according to Mr. Dobson, and many will have perished.

Some of the land birds that have reached Bermuda include Great Blue Herons, Yellow-billed cuckoos and a variety of warblers.

Jill Raine spotted six of the Frigatebirds hovering over Ferry Reach yesterday hovering and diving into the water and catching fish.

Later in the day she spotted more of the Frigatebirds at sunset near Clearwater Beach. The birds were also seen at the southern end of Harrington Sound, near Devil?s Hole.