Brown Booby

Masked Booby

Cory's Shearwater
All photos 24 Aug 2002  by James F. Flynn, Jr.

Russ Wigh organized a birding trip using the SCAT II out of Savannah, GA, on Saturday, 24 August 2002.  Sixteen participants joined Captain Steve Amick and First Mate Johnny Sheffield for the long journey to the edge of the stream in hopes of finding pelagic species in the waters off of Georgia.  The seas in the morning and at the edge of the outer shelf were a little on the rough side, but were much calmer on the way back.  Warm temps, mostly sunny skies and some cooperative birds made for a pleasurable trip.

The first birds observed out of sight of land were a small flock of Black Terns and a lone shorebird of unknown species, 14 nautical miles off of Tybee I.  The first truly pelagic species encountered was a pair of very distant large shearwaters, most likely Cory's Shearwaters.

We arrived at Navy tower R7 at approximately 8:10 AM and began to study the terns that were roosting on the structure and a flock of Cory's Shearwaters, some feeding, some resting on the water in the immediate vicinity.  After a couple of minutes had past, the first mate pointed out a large brown bird, something he had never seen before, on one of the supports of the tower.  All eyes focused on the bird and due to its size, shape and coloration, it was immediately identified as a Brown Booby.  We watched the bird for several moments while inching closer to get a better look.  Our approach was too much for the terns, which gradually began to leave the tower; and the booby eventually followed suit.

For the next 10 - 15 minutes, we watched the booby, the shearwaters and the terns circle the ship and the tower.  We lost track of the Brown Booby, though we would see it again later in the afternoon on the same tower on the way back to port.

As we worked our way to the edge of the outer shelf, we occasionally ran into small flocks of terns, including several Bridled and lots of Sooties, many of them circling low overhead or close to the ship.  The first of our Audubon Shearwaters were observed during this stretch of ocean; never more than one was encountered at any given time. We arrived at Navy tower R8, but as on the 24 June 2002 pelagic trip, a loud warning horn was sounding at regular intervals and we observed only 3 Royal Terns in the vicinity.

Plenty of frustration can be had on pelagic trips, and one of the ones that got away on this trip was a bird that we identified as a Pterodroma sp., mostly on its dark mantle and high arcing flight on long thin wings, somewhat bent at the wrist.  It covered an amazing amount of sea as it flew by. Black-capped Petrel is the most likely species, but it was just too distant to discern any additional meaningful field marks.

We also encountered a Least Sandpiper on the way to shelf edge.  It also circled the boat low overhead, calling as it did so.  It would be the last bird that we would run into until we headed back to port.  We have had very little luck with finding any birds at the break.

We eventually arrived back at tower R7 at approximately 2:45 PM, and as mentioned earlier, the Brown Booby had returned.  The tern numbers were augmented with a few more Common and Sandwich Terns, but the real surprise was lurking on the top deck of the tower.  Russ Wigh pointed out that we were being watched from above, an adult Masked Booby.  Unlike the Brown Booby, this booby was content to just watch us, and as a result, we were only able to photograph half of the bird (the rest being hidden from view by the deck).

The remainder of the trip was relatively uneventful, and calmer seas allowed for a much more comfortable ride back to port.  The final bird observed out of sight of land (at least from our vantage point, but probably not from its) was a Barn Swallow, 9.8 nautical miles off of Tybee I.

Brown Booby is currently listed as a Provisional species by the GOS Records Committee.  The last accepted sighting of Masked Booby in Georgia waters was November 1993, and this species is on the Regular List.  Please see the GOS Bird Records Committee page for more details on the different types of lists.