Tasli Shaw took her whale-watching zodiac on a wild ride July 23 when a lone Nazca booby, a bird native to Latin America only recorded twice before in B.C., graced the waters off the Trial Islands right before her eyes.

Shaw, who captains a 24-foot boat for Ocean EcoVentures in Cowichan Bay, had already enjoyed a full day at sea with two wildlife-watching highlights: a mother humpback whale playing with its calf and a harbour seal giving birth.

B次元官网网址淭he seas were rough and I decided it was time to get back to calmer waters.B次元官网网址�

Starting to head for home port around 5 p.m., she caught sight of a big white bird with a flight pattern unlike any gull sheB次元官网网址檇 ever observed. Shaw couldnB次元官网网址檛 tell the exact species, but knew from her inner birder and the way it flapped and circled about that it was some kind of booby B次元官网网址� all of which are rare in Greater Victoria B次元官网网址� and she needed to record it.

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She described the subsequent challenge of trying to simultaneously track and film the bird, navigate the boat and keep her passengers as dry as possible, saying it was a pretty high-stakes moment for herself and those along for the ride.

B次元官网网址淚 think they were initially kind of confused why I was basically doing a doughnut trying to follow this bird.B次元官网网址�

They came to appreciate her efforts once she explained they may have just joined the lucky few in the province to witness this species. She later went to BC Rare Bird Alert to notify the larger birder network of this unidentified sighting.

B次元官网网址淚t would probably be the highlight of my career, if I imagine,B次元官网网址� she said, adding that B次元官网网址渢he booby still took the cakeB次元官网网址� against the playful humpbacks and birthing seal. This B次元官网网址渢ruly organic experienceB次元官网网址� also topped her previous sighting of a brown booby, which she explained was merely spoon-fed to her by others whoB次元官网网址檇 already seen it.

Local biologist Jacques Sirois said itB次元官网网址檚 the first recorded sighting of the Nazca booby, which breeds as far south as Peru and the Galapagos Islands, in the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Of the three sightings of this species so far in B.C., itB次元官网网址檚 only the second to be seen alive.

According to birder Geoffrey Newell, that same booby passed through Puget Sound near Seattle days earlier and made further appearances at the Race Rocks and Trial Islands ecological reserves for subsequent whale watchers to enjoy. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 irritating because no birders got to see it,B次元官网网址� he said.

If heB次元官网网址檇 had the chance to set his binoculars on it, Newell added, his heart wouldB次元官网网址檝e begun to beat extremely fast and heB次元官网网址檇 be jumping up to touch the clouds. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a super rare bird anywhere in Canada.B次元官网网址�

The Nazca booby typically breeds no further north than southern California or Mexico, he said. B次元官网网址淚t probably turned up because of that streak of hot weather we had.B次元官网网址�

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Rare enough as this sighting already is, climate change means we likely wonB次元官网网址檛 see a Nazca booby again in Greater Victoria. During this oneB次元官网网址檚 multi-day visit, Newell noted it didnB次元官网网址檛 even land onshore in areas where no other birds were nesting.

The term B次元官网网址榖oobyB次元官网网址� comes from the Spanish slang term B次元官网网址榖obo,B次元官网网址� meaning stupid, which references how these seabirds fearlessly landed on ships in the 18th century and made themselves easy targets for sailors. Implicit stupidity aside, Newell called the Nazca booby a highly comical bird due to the combination of its mostly white colour, size of a cormorant and similar bill shape to a pelican. Perhaps its most unique feature is what he called its B次元官网网址渟ponge dive.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥nce itB次元官网网址檚 got its sights locked on something, itB次元官网网址檒l tuck its wings in and dive in the water, hardly making a sound.B次元官网网址�

He said it also carries itself with a B次元官网网址渧ery obviousB次元官网网址� flight pattern one can distinguish even from a distance, as was the case for Shaw. She acknowledged Greater Victoria is an unusual and likely challenging area for a Nazca booby to live in.

B次元官网网址淚 hope itB次元官网网址檚 able to either go back (south) or somehow manage to thrive (here).B次元官网网址�

Do you have a story tip? Email: evert.lindquist@blackpress.ca.

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