Brown Booby!!! Once, twice, three times.........
FIRST TIME
It was the August bank holiday weekend and for the last year I had planned to take Jess to see Ed Sheeran for her birthday. I joked about a real rarity turning up which is usually the case when we have made plans bit thankfully it didn't and we both enjoyed a nice night away in Ipswich.
Monday morning we got up and headed back home to Southampton. I was expecting abit of a grim drive back however it was trouble free and we made it back in very good time. News circulated of a reported Brown Booby off of St Ives however with the report being by a birder without bins I really didn't give it a second thought like I'd imagine most birders didn't. Little did I know how wrong I would be.
Tuesday morning I'm back at work when the mega alert sounds. I quickly look at my phone and incredibly it said BROWN BOOBY, ST IVES!!!
Twitter had already had some pictures uploaded which proved it's identity beyond doubt so the next step was when could I go! Unfortunatley I was covering a guy at work who was on holiday therefore it was a tense wait until I could go on the Friday. This bird wasn't going to be easy however it built up a routine of fishing every morning from the Mon-Thursday so Friday seemed almost set in stone for an appearance.
1am Friday morning I was up and ready and pumped albeit totally shattered from only getting 2 hours kip. Before setting off I thought I had better check my oil levels and water but being pitch black I couldn't see a lot and slipped cracking my hand on something in the engine bay, back in doors I could see I had 2 cuts and the blood was flowing nicely. Little did I know this would be a bad omen for things to come. After picking my Dad up I was on route to pick up Ian Wells however with Booby on my brain I drove straight past the junction so had to carry on and double back. Eventually with Ian on board we headed down to Hayle and arrived just as the light was starting to come through.
Parked up and paid for our ticket and we joined the already hopeful assembled crowd. It was a fairly stiff breeze and we were all scanning intently as the minutes passed by. Every minute that passed started getting more and more tense. Ian then picked up a distant dark seabird beyond the lighthouse, adrenalin started pumping thinking this could be it but unfortunatley as it glided ever closer it was just a young Gannet. Moments later a shout went up I've got it, I've got it!!! Unfortunatley for us all it transpired to be the same young Gannet we had just watched come in. Every minute that now passed was of that sinking horrible know you are going to Dip feeling. Without rambling on that was it, we had Dipped! Fucking Grim!!
Onlookers looking across St Ives bay from Gwithian.
So we left the car park and headed east scanning the sea from different viewpoints to see if we could locate the Booby however this was short lived as the Western Bonelli's Warbler made a reappearance after I thought it had gone the day before. This was good news for me as it was a UK tick, really one I should have seen by now but I always thought I would bump into one eventually so never really put in the effort and gone for one. Thankfully the Bonelli's showed well on arrival in it's favoured gardens before doing a disappearing act for ages. Nice to hear it calling also which them reminded me of the Eastern Bonelli's on Portland that I heard but didn't see!!!
After we had a quick search of Porthgwarra which in all honesty was dead apart from a group of 9 Chough's. We stopped back at the Bonelli's on the way back through but there was no sign since us leaving so we headed home although Jess rang me to say I could stay overnight but checking the weather and thinking it was long gone we decided against it! Arrived back at 9pm and sunk a fair few beers to ease the pain of a big dip!!!
Western Bonelli's Warbler
SECOND TIME
Needless to say the Saturday was a long and painful day glued to my phone for reports and also getting gripped off by fellow hants birders/twitchers that took the punt to stay overnight when it porned it on rocks off of Portgwidden!!
So yet again up at 1am and picked up the same crew as yesterday and we found ourselves heading down to the same car park in Cornwall. On arrival there was an increase in birders from the Friday so we decided to head down the coast 1 mile and get set up hoping to be in its favoured fishing area if it showed. This was in vein as yet again it was a no show!! We stayed until midday but by this point we were all dejected beyond belief and very quickly popped in on the Bonelli's W again before making the journey home.
Monday morning and back to work i went. I was working away thinking well we gave it a good shot and the luck just wasn't on our side when that dreaded noise bleeped from my phone! I couldn't believe it it's back and this time at Kynance Cove, the Lizard. A place I did mention trying on the Sunday. Again the guy at work was still on holiday so I had to wait again until Friday which was far from unpleasant although this bird seemed far more settled and even more incredible a different bird!! Surely I couldn't dip again?.......
Sanderling whilst waiting for the invisible Booby.
Some more images of the Western Bonelli's Warbler after the 2nd dip!
THIRD TIME
Ian had spoken to me during the week and he decided he was going to go asap which I can't blame him. He scored on the Wednesday so on the Friday again up at 1am just me and my dad headed down to the Lizard a place I had not visited yet.
Arriving in the National Trust car park at Kynance Cove there was already small numbers of birders on site suprisingly tho they had all walked west along the coast to view the rocks, presumably to try and see it roosting.
We got all our gear together and paid the £8 parking fee but instead of joining the crowd I said to my dad we will head south to the original viewpoint.
Once there we set up and originally there was no other birders at this particular spot but shortly after 2 more arrived. At 07:55 I picked up a bird heading south from the rocks and immediately I thought that's it but I waited for it to bank round which it duly did and bingo it was. I shouted to my dad I got it and he managed to get on it just before it landed on the small pyramid shaped rock out of view. I went over to the other two chaps to let them know we had just seen it and one had got on it and thought it was and the other didn't see it.
A panicked record shot of the Booby just about to land on the rock.
Finally I could add Brown Booby to my British list bringing me up nicely to 463! After 2 dips I cannot describe the feeling, it was pure joy and relief and made the 2 dips a distant memory. Now it was to try and obtain some better and more prolonged views of this 2nd/3rd for Britain. We were slowly joined by another 5 or 6 birders meanwhile the others further west had now scored with perched up views albeit distantly. Just over an hour passed when again I picked up the Booby really low over the cove heading straight towards us enabling everyone who had yet to see it finally clap eyes on this stunning specimen, honestly not a feather was missing or out of place ;).
It continued to drift past us and east into the next bay giving some reasonable views. It flew around for around 15 minutes or so but didn't make one attempt to actually fish before it once again landed out of view on the Gull rock.
Nice views were had as it went to and from it's roosting rock to fish in the bay to the east.
As a passing shower came through we headed back to the car for a sarnie and a drink. Ian suggested on Wednesday that he thought it had a routine and everytime it fished it went into the bay and came very close inshore by a rock jutting out into the sea which happened to be exactly what it had just previously done. With that in mind me and my Dad got out the car and walked east along the coastal path until we got roughly in the position where Ian and I had seen it feeding. What happened next was lets just say 'outrageous'.
I placed down my camera on the rocks and within seconds something caught my eye to the left of us, quick look through the binos and I said shit it's right in front of us!!! I scrambled for my camera but it headed off fast west back towards Kynance Cove.
Now I was thoroughly pissed off as I had potentially missed my best opportunity and perhaps of anyone to get a decent shot. Seconds later my Dad shouts it's banking round, it's coming back!! I started firing off like a madman hoping to get something on it but autofocus was being a nightmare with the choppy sea as a background and the stiff westerly breeze. I checked my images quickly and a few were in focus but the majority were blurred, I had to do better!!
Initial pics of the Brown Booby as I was desperately trying to get something useful.
It once again drifted off but soon came hurtling back low over the water. Now I seemed to have the right settings I was just rattling them off not even checking whether I had anything useful I just concentrated on the bird which at times was showing just a few metres from the shore, any closer and it would have been over our heads. A very surreal experience to be watching a 2nd for Britain at such close quarters but also just me and my Dad everyone else was still scoping it very distantly from the clifftop back at the cove.
Here's a selection of my best images of the bird.
Edited Booby pics
These are uncropped unedited straight of the camera. Bird was passing well within the rock at times just offshore.
Now it was onto Davidstow Airfield! I'll keep it short and sweet weather was totally grim but Buff-breasted Sandpiper showed very well and then we headed for home.
Adult Buff Breast.
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