Check it out! A Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) was spotted in Tomales Bay during an Audubon Canyon Ranch waterbird survey on 6 February 2016.
Although quite a few Brown Boobies have been reported from the Farallon Islands during the last couple of years (up to 30 individuals in one day!), this is the first record of a Brown Booby in Tomales Bay.
Some of you probably noticed that this bird is sitting on an oceanographic buoy. The buoy is maintained by UC Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory. Although sensors on the buoy are probably recording water conditions associated with El Niño, I'm guessing no one thought it would provide a biological record like this!
Although data collected at the buoy are not available right now, you can read more about the buoy here, and older data are available here.
Many thanks to Roger Harshaw for allowing me to share his wonderful photos.
The indefatigable birders of the SFbirds Yahoo group have been reporting a brown booby off of Arch Rock since the end of last year. Soon we'll be awash in Sulids!
ReplyDelete