When the UK’s 1st Brown Booby, a bird I’d only seen previously seen in the Caribbean, turned up in Cornwall I shrugged my shoulders and dismissed it as we were in Madeira. After a couple of days receding news of it showing well off St Ives there was negative news. It had gone. C’est La Vie.
Sat at the airport in Funchal news came through it had been refound the other side of the county at Kynance Cove! Or had it? Photographs appeared to show a different bird.
Sat at the airport in Funchal news came through it had been refound the other side of the county at Kynance Cove! Or had it? Photographs appeared to show a different bird.
The bird had apparently gone to roost so plans were made for an overnight trip to Cornwall with friends. At the last minute (literally) those plans fell through due to a family illness in the family of our designated driver so at 11pm I suddenly found myself filling the car with fuel and arranging to meet Steve just off the M56 for the overnight trip to Kynance Cove - somewhere I hadn’t been since I went with most of my cousins in 1982 when my grandparents (who lived in Hayle close to where the first sightings of the Booby were!) celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
After waiting in the dark for the sun to rise, & the first birds to start moving, expectations were high but as the air warmed up doubts started creeping in.
I was cold and had wandered off round the cliff tops to look at the other side of the bay when I heard a shout and people waving. The Booby had flown directly underneath me and was heading towards the assembled crowd! A breathless dash back along the coastal path &, against all expectations, I was watching a Brown Booby in the UK!
A great supporting cast of Chough, Balearic Shearwater, Manxies and (for Steve) Sooty Shearwaters. Many thanks to Steve for taking the wheel for a few hours on the way back and to his youngest daughter, G, for baking home made chocolate Brownies!!!
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