A Happy Brown Booby Day! -- June 11, 2012

         First, to reassure all of my non-birding friends:  Yes, I am referring to a bird -- a  rather rare, tropical seabird for our coast at that!   In fact, there are several varieties of boobies in the world -- Masked Boobies, Red-footed Boobies, Blue-Footed Boobies and Brown Boobies.  Here is how the story goes about my Happy Brown Booby Day.

         On Thursday, June 8, a young graduate student, Brittany Hoffnagle, e-mailed her former professor Chris Hill at Coastal Carolina University to report what she believed to be an immature Brown Booby.  She was on the south jetty of Murrells Inlet at Huntington Beach State Park and the bird in question was on the inaccessible north jetty.  She sent a cell phone photo but unfortunately it was not clear enough to confirm the ID.  Nonetheless, Chris Hill alerted the birding community with a post on the possible sighting to the Carolina Bird Listserv.  Kudos to Brittany!  The bird was indeed verified the next day.  We have an immature Brown Booby in SC!

          Knowing that this is quite a rare seabird for most of the coastal waters anywhere in North America (the very southern part of Florida is the exception), I decided to run up to Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) yesterday (Monday, June 11, 2012) to see it myself.   And, of course, who does not want to add another life bird to the list?  Even if the bird departed before I could arrive, I still would be treating myself to a fabulous day of birding at  HBSP -- a premier birding destination for our state! 

           Sure enough, I found the bird where indicated -- on a tall rock on the north jetty, across from the halfway point on the south jetty!  I have a new life bird!  Thank you Brittany!   Just as was previously reported, he was preening, unperturbed by the boat, para-sail and jet-ski traffic running by him.  Perhaps he was enjoying the "people watching!"

Brown Booby -- a rare visitor to North American coasts -- viewed from the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, SC -- June 11, 2012

Brown Booby -- a rare visitor to North American coasts -- viewed from the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, SC -- June 11, 2012

         The fishermen were completely oblivious to the rare treasure they had just above them!  How I wanted to be in a boat to approach for closer photography options!  After my report, I have a friend considering renting a boat for just that possibility.  My photos would certainly be better had I been closer! 

Brown Booby -- a rare visitor to North American coasts -- viewed from the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, SC -- June 11, 2012

Brown Booby -- a rare visitor to North American coasts -- viewed from the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, SC -- June 11, 2012

Brown Booby -- a rare visitor to North American coasts -- viewed from the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, SC -- June 11, 2012

         Brown Boobies live in tropical waters throughout the world and adults are  typically not found on land in their breeding colonies unless it is breeding season.  There are few reports of roosting sites.  This species does not need to roost at night on land.  They feed on small fish, such as flying fish, captured  via  plunge-dives from 1 to 15 meters or in shallow dives at low angles to the water.  It is believed that they swim short distances underwater after their prey.  Since I had observed this Booby over a few hours time, I was wondering if it was fishing.  Was it a healthy bird?  It had perched on the same, well-decorated rock on which it had roosted in previous days, it seemed.  I did finally see this long-perched bird take off and head out over the jetty towards the ocean.  Then it back-tracked and disappeared behind the rocks on the other side.  I did not actually see it catch a fish.  But I did see it return to the "chosen" rock and commence again it's preening.  Not much is known about  this species' migration patterns.  Data show that this species does like to roost and nest in windy areas which suggests that this bird perhaps needs wind lift for take-offs.  Well, I would say that this young Brown Booby has chosen his rock well if such is the case.  Murrell's Inlet proves to be quite a windy locale. 

         So I experienced quite the Happy Brown Booby day at HBSP!  Perhaps this bird will hang out on his rock for awhile allowing other birders to come visit before he takes off to explore again.  It certainly is a significant tally mark on my Life Bird List!


Citation:
Schreiber, E. A. and R. L. Norton. 2002. Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/649