It’s about time. We have been waiting for a few species of shorebirds that generally show up in August. Well, sure enough, here they are.
Menemsha fisherman Walter Dixon had a surprise shipmate join his fishing trip on Monday afternoon: a brown booby.
Unexpected is not an understatement. A brown booby is a pelagic species that some birders make special trips to the Dry Tortugas to see.
Long narrow wings and a fairly robust body, running along the water’s surface to become airborne, oceanic and a tube on top of their beaks to excrete excess salt. All are characteristics of shearwaters.
On July 19, Red Beach was a perfect seven for seven.
Nobody claims shorebirds are easy to identify.
