When I saw the report of a Brown Booby being reported in La Crosse Wisconsin it sounded impossible! A bird that lives south of the US in the oceans of Mexico, east and west was a bird I wanted on my WI life list. It was too late in the day to make the run up there as it would be dark but put together a trip for early morning. Jym and Nathanal went along for the ride with me. Leaving at 3 am from Waukesha and arriving at 5:30 am worked out well, a few minutes before light. After about 20 minutes the bird was found opposite the eagle watch parking lot on the other side of the Black River perched in a tree. After about 15 minutes the bird left the perch and flew around some over the open water, eventually landing in the water. The next couple of hours the bird repeated the flying and landing on the water giving excellent views and pretty far for photos every 10 minutes but never came close up but remained towards the other side of the river or body of water opening. What a great find, the original finder of the exciting bird was Tim Collins, and it was actually found 2 days earlier, this being the 3rd day. A big thank you to Tim for getting the word out on this bird. It was a beautiful morning with temps around 60 degrees and no wind and some clouds. I hope it hangs around for a while for others to enjoy. Life bird #370 for my Wisconsin life list.
At first decent light, the Brown Booby was found perched in a tree on the other side of the river…
Brown Booby during one of its flights over the river at a distance…
In flight…
Just floating around, the bird seemed to be comfortable…
In flight, the bird put on a great show!
In flight…
With you’re photos, now I believe. What a find. As usual, great flicks.
He’d better watch out for the eagles. When I lived in Atlanta a few years ago, a rogue Brown Booby was found at an inland lake following a coastal tropical storm that had pushed him north, and he was able to live there comfortably until he was caught by a bald eagle.
Great captures Jim!
Saw this beautiful bird a lot while on a cruise to Honduras. I hope he does okay in our cooler climes.
Thanks for putting a photo out there!
Amazing find.
Congratulations. Nice shots considered the great distance. I’m glad it waited for you guys to get there,
Wondering if it will head back South with Winter’s approach. Is it a migrating bird? Apparently not for the sighting to be so rare.
Got to go up on thursday 8/10 and he was in the same tree….next morning ( stayed overnight) got up at 6 and ne was way on the other side again but in the water…..about an hour later he was up and flying right past us and diving….was such a wonderful sight to see and to add to our birding list….amazing. Loved your pictures.
We were in the River and saw it flying around, diving, etc. it was an exciting time for all of us. We knew that bird was lost, but had no idea it was a brown booby. So very cool! Thank you for posting and sharing the incredible photos. None of us had the equipment to take such amazing pictures. Wow!