Brown Booby – South Gare, Redcar, Cleveland, 10th September 2023
I’m going to attempt to write this account without any innuendo, but this will not be easy, deliberate or otherwise.
In a parallel universe to my ‘real’ world, I’d tried to never become too fixated with boobies, as after all, they were unobtainable, at least for the likes of me.
For example, Brown Booby was a species cursed by claims which never, ever saw the light of day (even when they perhaps weren’t juvenile or immature Gannets!).
For instance, (and there may well be several others such records), Rare Bird Alert (RBA) reported an adult off Point Lynas, Anglesey on the 2nd September 2002 but this has never been accepted.
On the 2nd January 2016, a long-deceased tideline corpse was discovered on Owenahinccha Beach, County Cork, and this became the first accepted record for the British Isles. Later that year, on both the 13th and 14th August 2016, a live specimen was seen south-west of Skellig Islands, County Kerry.
Meanwhile, records elsewhere in the Western Palearctic gradually climbed too, and increasingly involved birds away from more obvious locations such as Eilat, on the Red Sea in Israel, or the sub-tropical Azores in the Atlantic. Perhaps predictably, there were records from Madeira and the Canary Islands. Perhaps less predictably, there were also records (or reported records anyway) from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Turkey, and by 2017, from the Netherlands and Germany.
Something was happening…… .
In the UK the first accepted record involved a bird photographed off Swalecliff in Kent on the 19th August 2019.
Soon afterwards, things went a bit silly, as three different birds were seen in (or off) Cornwall in less than two weeks. More specifically, between the 26th – 31st August one frequented the St Ives and Godrevy Bay area for six days, between the 2nd and 6th September a first summer bird remained around the Kynance Cove area for five days and on the 2nd September, another was seen at sea 40 km north-west of Cape Cornwall.
Now, I should mention that, at this point I began to take boobies a lot more seriously, as a certain Alison Downs, who, as Alison Bunting had been my girlfriend when I lived and worked in Dorset, had ticked off the Kynance Cove bird. As this was the only species on her UK list that I hadn’t seen, there was now a very definite reason to be MUCH more interested in boobies…….. .
Although 2017 and 2018 only produced one report of Brown Booby respectively elsewhere in the Western Palearctic (that for 2017 being from the ever-reliable Eilat, whilst that for 2018 was again from mainland Spain) 2019 produced a series of records in Spain and France, and latterly two in Italy.
Something was definitely happening…… .
2020 produced a plethora of reported Brown Boobies from the UK, but to date, only the first of these, a bird which was reported on a trawler 8 km south of Bembridge in the Isle of Wight, has been accepted.
Reports of a possible off Withernsea, East Yorkshire on the 4th July, two off Porthgwarra / St Levan, Cornwall on the 2nd August, one off Port Eynon, the Gower, Glamorgan on the 23rd August, one past Pendeen Watch, Cornwall on the 27th August, one past Trevose Head, Cornwall on the 17th September 2020 and one south past Southwold, Suffolk on the 1st November haven’t yet re-surfaced as accepted records.
Meanwhile in Ireland one was seen 84 miles south-west of Cape Clear, County Cork on the 13th July and that same day, another was located at Greystones, County Wicklow. To increase my angst, I alerted Alan Lauder, my colleague as Chairman of the Isle of May Bird Observatory and Field Station Trust about this bird as it was close to his home in County Wicklow. Sadly, after Alan had seen it, it was taken into care and subsequently died four days later.
Further afield, there were some ten reports from elsewhere in the Western Palaearctic during 2020, the majority from mainland Portugal (as well as a record from the Azores), and mainland Spain (as well as a record from the Canary Islands) and France but also two records from the Netherlands and one from Denmark.
Something was very definitely happening…… .
However, 2021 and 2022 both heightened my sense that, for me at least, boobies were likely to remain unobtainable.
In 2021, on the 9th and 11th August Brown Boobies were reported south past Boulmer and Bamburgh in Northumberland respectively, whilst on the 21st August a possible immature booby species was reported past Portland Bill in Dorset. Lastly, a Christmas Brown Booby (as opposed to a Christmas Island Frigatebird) was reported south past Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire on the 25th December….. . Spain had seven (reported) records and Sweden(!) one.
2022 commenced with a Brown Booby being taken into care at Hove in Sussex on the 3rd January, whilst another was also taken into care at Perranporth in Cornwall on the 18th February. Sea temperatures might have been getting warmer, but…… . Finally, in 2022 there was also another record in Ireland, this relating to a bird seen in Dublin, County Dublin on the 20th October 2022.
There were some twelve records elsewhere in the Western Palaearctic during the year, and in the established pattern, (away from the Azores) almost all of these were from mainland Spain or France.
So, in a British Isles sense, a handful of records a year, involving birds in Ireland, birds taken into care on or soon after the day they were discovered, or birds passing places I rarely visited, let alone sea-watched from.
Nah, something might have been happening, but it just wasn’t happening for me, was it?
Although I was aware of the extraordinarily high sea temperatures recorded in the North Sea by mid-summer 2023, I wasn’t aware that, perhaps as a result, records of Brown Booby had penetrated as far north as waters of the Baltic Sea off Helsinki, Finland and off Sodermaland, Sweden (where one was found on the deck of a ship in early August) in addition to more ‘typical’ records in Spain and France.
2023 saw me working near Inverness as the Environmental Clerk of Works on the project to create a second world-class golf course at Castle Stuart (aka Cabot Highlands).
This entailed being on site for a few days each fortnight, typically commuting from home in South Queensferry to my local accommodation and back in my car every other week.
However, on Sunday the 13th August, I opted to return north by getting a lift with my house mate and work colleague, Mik Wells, as he was passing South Queensferry on his way back to work after a few days down south.
This had long been talked about, as it enabled me to take the train back home, and to do so via Aberdeen, so that I could visit Ellen and her boyfriend Shane en route.
So it was that I caught the train from Nairn to Aberdeen on the morning of the 17th August. On arrival, I then walked from the railway station in Aberdeen to Ellen and Shane’s flat. I arrived in Aberdeen just before 11:30. At 11:20 there was a message on the RBA app stating, “Lothian probable Brown Booby flew east past Cramond Island with Gannets”, followed by another saying, “MEGA Lothian BROWN BOOBY Cramond Island again at 11:42”. Similar messages (and probably ones I was more instantly aware of) appeared on both the Lothian and Fife Bird news WhatsApp groups.
Now, I cannot remember just when I first saw these messages, but I suspect it was somewhile later. I was shattered when I arrived at Ellen and Shane’s as I had a lot of baggage with me. Once I had recovered and lunched Ellen and I walked to the nearby Sunnyside Park and worked on her allotment all afternoon. This was very enjoyable and I don’t remember it being spoiled by the news of the Brown Booby. All the same, this bird may just have been visible from home had I been there and known about it, though this was perhaps not very likely. I do remember seeing that the bird had been seen by Mervyn Griffin, and as such smirked at the naysayers who undoubtedly dismissed the record as a juvenile Gannet. All the more, so when it emerged that someone called Martin Auld had coincidentally photographed the bird, providing invaluable photographic evidence as well!
Things may well have been happening, but certainly they weren’t happening for me. Surely, I’d missed my best chance, a bird on my door-step.
Incredibly, the same bird was then seen by just two observers at Fife Ness at 14:29 (as everyone else had headed west) and it (or a probable) was also seen from Garron Point, Stonehaven at 16:25.
Even more incredibly, it was then seen by two good friends, Andy Wiliams and Al McNee at 15:30 the following day at Tarbet Ness, Highland who had gone there purely on the basis of a (very good) hunch. And again, Andy obtained invaluable images.
August 2023 continued to produce Brown Booby reports. One was seen off Sheringham and Cley, Norfolk at 07:48 and 08:17 respectively on the 19th August 2023, and it or another was seen off the latter site on the 29th August.
Worse, much worse, a Red-footed Booby was seen off Scilly and on the Bishop Rock Lighthouse in late August and was heavily twitched. As a result, absolutely incredibly, both it and a Brown Booby were seen there on the 28th – 29th August. What an incredible pair!!!!!
I was on the Isle of May between the 2nd and 9th September for what proved to be an excellent week (featuring Greenish Warbler, Barred Warbler, two Common Rosefinch and a first for the Isle of May, a Spotted Sandpiper, plus and excellent, young, hard-working, non-drinking crew…….).
More reports of Brown Booby ensued. The day before we arrived on the Isle of May (i.e., on the 1st September), an adult which was seen flying north past Eyemouth, Borders.
On the morning of the 3rd September, one was seen on sea off Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire. The following day, presumably this bird, an adult, was seen at Filey Brigg, Filey, East Yorkshire at 07:40. By 08:52 it was off Hunmanby Gap, East Yorkshire, where it broadly remained for much of the day. It was briefly seen there at 07:30 and between10:06 and 11.10 the following morning (the 5th September) but then, in a case of déjà vu, another Brown Booby was seen between 09:42 and 10:40 and 16:40 and the evening of the 5th September from Pettycur, Kinghorn, Fife. It was also viewable from Lothian side too, for example, it was seen from Cramond Island on the morning of the 6th September. AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Nah, something might have been happening, but it just wasn’t happening for me, was it?
Although I was aware of the extraordinarily high sea temperatures recorded in the North Sea by mid-summer 2023, I wasn’t aware that, perhaps as a result, records of Brown Booby had penetrated as far north as waters of the Baltic Sea off Helsinki, Finland and off Sodermaland, Sweden (where one was found on the deck of a ship in early August) in addition to more ‘typical’ records in Spain and France.
2023 saw me working near Inverness as the Environmental Clerk of Works on the project to create a second world-class golf course at Castle Stuart (aka Cabot Highlands).
This entailed being on site for a few days each fortnight, typically commuting from home in South Queensferry to my local accommodation and back in my car every other week.
However, on Sunday the 13th August, I opted to return north by getting a lift with my house mate and work colleague, Mik Wells, as he was passing South Queensferry on his way back to work after a few days down south.
This had long been talked about, as it enabled me to take the train back home, and to do so via Aberdeen, so that I could visit Ellen and her boyfriend Shane en route.
So it was that I caught the train from Nairn to Aberdeen on the morning of the 17th August. On arrival, I then walked from the railway station in Aberdeen to Ellen and Shane’s flat. I arrived in Aberdeen just before 11:30. At 11:20 there was a message on the RBA app stating, “Lothian probable Brown Booby flew east past Cramond Island with Gannets”, followed by another saying, “MEGA Lothian BROWN BOOBY Cramond Island again at 11:42”. Similar messages (and probably ones I was more instantly aware of) appeared on both the Lothian and Fife Bird news WhatsApp groups.
Now, I cannot remember just when I first saw these messages, but I suspect it was somewhile later. I was shattered when I arrived at Ellen and Shane’s as I had a lot of baggage with me. Once I had recovered and lunched Ellen and I walked to the nearby Sunnyside Park and worked on her allotment all afternoon. This was very enjoyable and I don’t remember it being spoiled by the news of the Brown Booby. All the same, this bird may just have been visible from home had I been there and known about it, though this was perhaps not very likely. I do remember seeing that the bird had been seen by Mervyn Griffin, and as such smirked at the naysayers who undoubtedly dismissed the record as a juvenile Gannet. All the more, so when it emerged that someone called Martin Auld had coincidentally photographed the bird, providing invaluable photographic evidence as well!
Things may well have been happening, but certainly they weren’t happening for me. Surely, I’d missed my best chance, a bird on my door-step.
Incredibly, the same bird was then seen by just two observers at Fife Ness at 14:29 (as everyone else had headed west) and it (or a probable) was also seen from Garron Point, Stonehaven at 16:25.
Even more incredibly, it was then seen by two good friends, Andy Wiliams and Al McNee at 15:30 the following day at Tarbet Ness, Highland who had gone there purely on the basis of a (very good) hunch. And again, Andy obtained invaluable images.
August 2023 continued to produce Brown Booby reports. One was seen off Sheringham and Cley, Norfolk at 07:48 and 08:17 respectively on the 19th August 2023, and it or another was seen off the latter site on the 29th August.
Worse, much worse, a Red-footed Booby was seen off Scilly and on the Bishop Rock Lighthouse in late August and was heavily twitched. As a result, absolutely incredibly, both it and a Brown Booby were seen there on the 28th – 29th August. What an incredible pair!!!!!
I was on the Isle of May between the 2nd and 9th September for what proved to be an excellent week (featuring Greenish Warbler, Barred Warbler, two Common Rosefinch and a first for the Isle of May, a Spotted Sandpiper, plus and excellent, young, hard-working, non-drinking crew…….).
More reports of Brown Booby ensued. The day before we arrived on the Isle of May (i.e., on the 1st September), an adult which was seen flying north past Eyemouth, Borders.
On the morning of the 3rd September, one was seen on sea off Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire. The following day, presumably this bird, an adult, was seen at Filey Brigg, Filey, East Yorkshire at 07:40. By 08:52 it was off Hunmanby Gap, East Yorkshire, where it broadly remained for much of the day. It was briefly seen there at 07:30 and between10:06 and 11.10 the following morning (the 5th September) but then, in a case of déjà vu, another Brown Booby was seen between 09:42 and 10:40 and 16:40 and the evening of the 5th September from Pettycur, Kinghorn, Fife. It was also viewable from Lothian side too, for example, it was seen from Cramond Island on the morning of the 6th September. AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Meanwhile, the bird in north-east England was seen at Filey, North Yorkshire at around midday on the 5th September before moving north to Whitby and Sandsend in North Yorkshire later that afternoon and returning south to Hunmanby Gap and Filey that evening.
It was seen at Long Nab, Burniston, Yorkshire at 07:30 on the 6th September and subsequently was seen at Cowbar Nab, Cleveland, at 08:45, Hartlepool Headland at 09:51, Hendon, County Durham at 10:39, Marsden, County Durham at 10:50, Cullercoats, Northumberland at 11:07, St. Mary’s Island, Northumberland at 1114 and Souter Lighthouse, Whitburn, County Durham at 12.:15. Subsequently, from that afternoon onwards, it settled in the area at the mouth of the Tees, being variously seen between Seaton Snook and South Gare, as well as Seal Sands. Very early the following day in frequented similar places, before eventually becoming more reliable at South Gare where it regularly perched on various navigation buoys in the Tees from early morning onwards, as it did for the next few days. That is, it was relatively settled, and as such reliable and accessible……. .
Frustratingly, I was still on the Isle of May until the morning of the 9th September, so I was limited to monitoring its ongoing presence from afar. It was sticking, but how long for?
Early on the morning we left the Isle of May, the 9th September, a Brown Booby was reported flying east past Lossiemouth, Moray (close to Nairn where I was living when working at Castle Stuart). This was a mere distraction though, as the South Gare was still there!!!! Amy King, one of my crew on the Isle of May, was planning to take in the Brown Booby on her way back to Bempton that day. I gave Graeme Cook and Chris Pendlebury lifts home to Muthill and Dunblane respectively, and Chris, knowing my torture, encouraged me to carry straight on to South Gare after dropping him off.
But I couldn’t. I was shattered, and had to commence washing, etc., in preparation for my next visit to Castle Stuart, and, immediately afterwards, a week on Lewis with Ken and Amanda Shaw and Andy Williams.
So, I planned to go the next day, as soon as I could / as soon as there was positive news. Amy had connected, which encouraged me. There was early news by 07:00 and, having woken reasonably early, I was able to leave before 08:15. The drive as thankfully uneventful (I’d even filled the car up the previously evening). Having negotiated my way around the blitzkrieg of the Tees-side conurbation (helpfully liaising with Steely as I did so) to Redcar I continued out past the blitzkrieg of the former steelworks. As Steely had suggested, this was a landscape a bit like a post-industrial Spurn.
Anyway, I drove as far as I thought sensible and parked up where I could, amongst the hotch-potch of vehicles that flanked the road. The journey had taken around four hours.
I could see at least one pair of the red and green navigation buoys and a few distant birders / toggers dotted about, so I surmised I might be able to see the object of my quest from where I was parked. As quickly as my stiffness would allow, I emerged from the car and grabbed my bins from my rucksack in the boot. Sure enough, it was on one of the pair of buoys closest to where I was. It was OML!!!
I quickly assembled my ‘scope and tripod and walked down the nearby slope to the edge of the Tees, from where I intended ‘scoping the bird.
However, as I set up my ‘scope, it flew off upriver. I managed to find it as it did so, amongst the large numbers of terns, gulls and cormorants, but this wasn’t very satisfactory; distant and more distant flight views.
I just knew though it would come back, and after some scanning, I picked it up flying back towards the mouth of the river occasionally harried by immature gulls.
I followed it, and possibly because it was being harried, or because its previous perch was occupied by a Greater Black-backed Gull, it continued on to green navigation buoy 5.
Again, I followed it, walking as fast as my little legs would carry me. Thankfully, it was still there when I arrived at a suitable viewing point, and I enjoyed good views for 30 plus minutes or more, in the company of a togger and an off-duty police officer from Sheffield. This resulted in some excellent craic as I watched and attempted to photograph the bird. Perhaps it was a little distant and a little hazy due to the haar, but I could see more than enough.
It was a typical booby in shape, (well, I had seen both Peruvian and Masked earlier in the year – like a smallish elongated Gannet?), with dark brown plumage, excepting for white underparts, sharply demarcated from the brown plumage with a straight horizontal line at mid-breast level. The bill was long and pointed, and almost conical-like, edged by a jagged line to the brown facial plumage. The eye was dark, and was set in a small area of dark brown plumage within the beak area. The wing-tips and the tail were both similar in length when the bird was at rest. The beak was a slightly pinkish ivory and the legs were a (slightly greenish?) yellow.
I also enjoyed good flight views in the ‘scope as it flew past distantly, when the brown edged white underwing pattern and long brown pointed tail were evident. The remiges appeared worn,
The journey home was also more than acceptable despite slight delays due to a road closure to do with the Great North Run (although this also resulted in views of the Red Arrows), and due to a rainstorm.
It was seen at Long Nab, Burniston, Yorkshire at 07:30 on the 6th September and subsequently was seen at Cowbar Nab, Cleveland, at 08:45, Hartlepool Headland at 09:51, Hendon, County Durham at 10:39, Marsden, County Durham at 10:50, Cullercoats, Northumberland at 11:07, St. Mary’s Island, Northumberland at 1114 and Souter Lighthouse, Whitburn, County Durham at 12.:15. Subsequently, from that afternoon onwards, it settled in the area at the mouth of the Tees, being variously seen between Seaton Snook and South Gare, as well as Seal Sands. Very early the following day in frequented similar places, before eventually becoming more reliable at South Gare where it regularly perched on various navigation buoys in the Tees from early morning onwards, as it did for the next few days. That is, it was relatively settled, and as such reliable and accessible……. .
Frustratingly, I was still on the Isle of May until the morning of the 9th September, so I was limited to monitoring its ongoing presence from afar. It was sticking, but how long for?
Early on the morning we left the Isle of May, the 9th September, a Brown Booby was reported flying east past Lossiemouth, Moray (close to Nairn where I was living when working at Castle Stuart). This was a mere distraction though, as the South Gare was still there!!!! Amy King, one of my crew on the Isle of May, was planning to take in the Brown Booby on her way back to Bempton that day. I gave Graeme Cook and Chris Pendlebury lifts home to Muthill and Dunblane respectively, and Chris, knowing my torture, encouraged me to carry straight on to South Gare after dropping him off.
But I couldn’t. I was shattered, and had to commence washing, etc., in preparation for my next visit to Castle Stuart, and, immediately afterwards, a week on Lewis with Ken and Amanda Shaw and Andy Williams.
So, I planned to go the next day, as soon as I could / as soon as there was positive news. Amy had connected, which encouraged me. There was early news by 07:00 and, having woken reasonably early, I was able to leave before 08:15. The drive as thankfully uneventful (I’d even filled the car up the previously evening). Having negotiated my way around the blitzkrieg of the Tees-side conurbation (helpfully liaising with Steely as I did so) to Redcar I continued out past the blitzkrieg of the former steelworks. As Steely had suggested, this was a landscape a bit like a post-industrial Spurn.
Anyway, I drove as far as I thought sensible and parked up where I could, amongst the hotch-potch of vehicles that flanked the road. The journey had taken around four hours.
I could see at least one pair of the red and green navigation buoys and a few distant birders / toggers dotted about, so I surmised I might be able to see the object of my quest from where I was parked. As quickly as my stiffness would allow, I emerged from the car and grabbed my bins from my rucksack in the boot. Sure enough, it was on one of the pair of buoys closest to where I was. It was OML!!!
I quickly assembled my ‘scope and tripod and walked down the nearby slope to the edge of the Tees, from where I intended ‘scoping the bird.
However, as I set up my ‘scope, it flew off upriver. I managed to find it as it did so, amongst the large numbers of terns, gulls and cormorants, but this wasn’t very satisfactory; distant and more distant flight views.
I just knew though it would come back, and after some scanning, I picked it up flying back towards the mouth of the river occasionally harried by immature gulls.
I followed it, and possibly because it was being harried, or because its previous perch was occupied by a Greater Black-backed Gull, it continued on to green navigation buoy 5.
Again, I followed it, walking as fast as my little legs would carry me. Thankfully, it was still there when I arrived at a suitable viewing point, and I enjoyed good views for 30 plus minutes or more, in the company of a togger and an off-duty police officer from Sheffield. This resulted in some excellent craic as I watched and attempted to photograph the bird. Perhaps it was a little distant and a little hazy due to the haar, but I could see more than enough.
It was a typical booby in shape, (well, I had seen both Peruvian and Masked earlier in the year – like a smallish elongated Gannet?), with dark brown plumage, excepting for white underparts, sharply demarcated from the brown plumage with a straight horizontal line at mid-breast level. The bill was long and pointed, and almost conical-like, edged by a jagged line to the brown facial plumage. The eye was dark, and was set in a small area of dark brown plumage within the beak area. The wing-tips and the tail were both similar in length when the bird was at rest. The beak was a slightly pinkish ivory and the legs were a (slightly greenish?) yellow.
I also enjoyed good flight views in the ‘scope as it flew past distantly, when the brown edged white underwing pattern and long brown pointed tail were evident. The remiges appeared worn,
The journey home was also more than acceptable despite slight delays due to a road closure to do with the Great North Run (although this also resulted in views of the Red Arrows), and due to a rainstorm.
Brown
Booby, South Gare, Cleveland, September 2023 (photograph credited to Alex Jones).
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