Brown booby found on Hove beach 'could have been blown off course'

The brown booby could have been blown off course, East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service says

A seabird which can usually be seen in the tropics has been found on an East Sussex beach.

The brown booby, more regularly spotted in Mexico and the Caribbean, was discovered on Hove beach on Sunday.

Wildlife volunteers collected the bird, which had been caught and boxed by a passing member of the public.

It was then handed to East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) which found it was underweight.

The rescued bird weighed 760g when its natural body weight would usually be between 1kg and 1.8kg.

Brown boobies live in tropical areas around the world

It was the second booby to come into the care of the East Sussex rescue service, after a red footed booby was found in 2016.

Trevor Weeks, founder of East Sussex WRAS, said: "Having one booby to deal with was a surprise, to get a second turn up here in Sussex is really unusual."

He said the brown booby was normally found anywhere from California, the Gulf of Mexico, to the west coast of Africa and sometimes up into the Mediterranean, and across the Red Sea to Indonesia and northern Australian coasts.

Mr Weeks said: "We don't know where the bird came from originally, nor what route it would have taken.

"We are aware that these birds have landed on shipping and travelled outside of their natural home range before, as well as being blown off course in storms."

The brown booby is the most common booby species but are rarely found in the UK

Once the bird is healthy enough it is likely to be transferred to a rehabilitation centre before being flown back to a more natural location for its release.

Mr Weeks said: "He's a lovely bird, we think he's a he, but because he's a juvenile it's very difficult to tell.

"We need to build up his body weight slowly and gradually.

"He's not out of the woods yet, by any means, but we're keeping our fingers crossed."

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