It’s the third time in eight years that a red-footed booby has been sighted in the UK.
A odd-looking tropical bird has been spotted at Worbarrow Bay near Lulworth Cove in Dorset.
The creature in question is a red-footed booby, a colourful diving bird that lives year-round in tropical or sub-tropical areas such as the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Usually they don’t migrate, but this is the third time in eight years that the species has been recorded in the UK.
Divers Jane and Vince Jenkins reported the seabird after filming it perched on their boat on 24 June.
The red-footed booby is the smallest of the six booby species. That’s not to say it’s small; it still boasts an impressive one-metre wingspan and stands well over half a metre in height.
“We sat and watched it preening for around 15 minutes,“ Vince told Dorest Bird Guides.
“The booby continued with us for a while and it was only when we were halfway back on our return, and doing around 20 knots, that it decided to leave and flew back west towards Worbarrow.”
There are two other UK records of red-footed boobies, one from 2016 (East Sussex) and the other from 2023 (Isles of Scilly).
All three records have occurred in the past eight years, and there have been other recent sightings on mainland Europe.
"Warming seas as a result of climate change are undoubtedly the leading cause behind the now-regular appearance of tropical Sula species in British waters," said Dorset Bird Club.
Find out more about Jane and Vince Jenkins' incredible encounter.
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