Fin & Feather Corner: The booby in our wake

Last week, we shared a story from an offshore snapper trip. As always, getting out on the water is about more than the fish. There is something about being 20 miles offshore that makes you pay attention to things you might otherwise miss — the endless horizon, the occasional dolphin, the birds and all the other signs that you are very much a guest in someone else’s neighborhood.

On this particular trip, the flying fish put on quite a show. They would burst from the water and skim along the surface, seemingly determined to see how far they could get without actually becoming airborne in the traditional sense. These fish risk death from above and below, as both other, larger fish and birds love to eat them! Then we noticed that we had an audience.

A large seabird had apparently decided to follow the boat. He- or she — kept pace with us offshore, watching the flying fish just as intently as we were. Not sure what species we were observing, once we were back within cell-phone range, a quick search solved the mystery. Our tag along was a booby. More specifically, a young masked booby.

Yes, booby. It turns out the bird's name has nothing to do with the immature humor of the humans reading this. The name comes from the Spanish word bobo, meaning foolish or naïve. Early sailors apparently discovered that boobies were remarkably unconcerned about people. They were tame, awkward on land and apparently possessed of very little of the “something is coming to eat me” instinct. That made them easy for sailors to approach — and, unfortunately for the birds, easy to catch. They provided fresh meat. A single booby could yield roughly two to five pounds, which made a trusting seabird a convenient meal for a hungry crew.

While boobies may look a little ridiculous waddling around on land, that impression disappears the moment they take to the air. Boobies are spectacular aerial hunters. They patrol the ocean looking for fish and squid, then fold themselves into a remarkably streamlined package and plunge into the water at high speed. Their bodies are essentially built for this job: long, pointed bills; narrow wings; wedge-shaped tails; and aerodynamic bodies that look much more at home in the air than on a beach. They even have air sacs beneath the skin around the face and chest that help cushion the impact when they hit the water.

They don't have to worry about getting completely waterlogged afterward. Like many seabirds, boobies have a preen gland near the base of the tail that produces an oily, waxy substance. They spread that oil over their feathers while preening, helping maintain the waterproofing that is rather important when your hunting technique involves repeatedly throwing yourself into the Gulf.

Our young masked booby was likely keeping a close eye on those flying fish because they are among the favorite foods of the species. Watching the flying fish escape the water while a booby followed along behind us made for one of those unexpected wildlife encounters that you don't plan for when you leave the dock.

The masked booby (Sula dactylatra) is one of the largest members of the booby family, reaching roughly 30 to 33 inches in length. Adults are striking birds, mostly white with black wings and tail feathers and a dark face that gives them their appropriately dramatic name. A juvenile Masked Booby has mostly brown or mottled plumage that gradually changes to the bold white-and-black coloration of the adult. It has a long, pointed bill, long angular wings and an aerodynamic body built for plunge-diving. Young birds can look quite different from the crisp, masked appearance of adults, but their size and graceful flight make them unmistakable once you know what to look for.

They are tropical and subtropical ocean birds, spending most of their lives over open water and generally returning to remote islands and atolls to breed. In other words, they aren't exactly the bird you expect to see hanging around your neighborhood feeder, and why you should always keep your eyes open out on the water.

Along the Texas coast, masked boobies are uncommon but can turn up in the deeper Gulf waters, particularly offshore. Brown boobies are also seen along the Texas coast, and a lone red-footed booby has generated considerable excitement among Texas birders around the Corpus Christi area.

The booby family includes several species, including the blue-footed, brown, red-footed, nazca, Peruvian, cocos, and masked boobies. Abbott's booby, once included with the others, now has a genus of its own.

The masked booby's closest look-alike in the eastern Pacific is the nazca booby. The two were once considered the same species but were formally separated in the early 2000s. The nazca booby tends to have a somewhat different bill and nesting habits and is associated with the Pacific coast and Galápagos region. The masked booby, meanwhile, has an enormous tropical-ocean range, generally occurring between roughly 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south latitude. It can be found across portions of the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian and Pacific oceans. They are also surprisingly long-lived. The oldest recorded masked booby lived to at least 25 years and three months.

For several miles, we had our own feathered fishing companion, cruising along behind us while we watched flying fish and searched for snapper. We left the dock expecting to catch fish and came home with a new bird identification as well, and the next time someone mentions seeing a booby offshore, I'll know exactly what they're talking about.

I'll also try very hard not to make the obvious joke.

No promises.

Shannon Kennedy Sawyer is a 1993 graduate of Rockport-Fulton High School, a former science teacher and K–12 science curriculum coordinator, current public school administrator and an avid angler and outdoor enthusiast with a passion for writing and sharing the wonders found outdoors. She can be reached at finfeathercorner@yahoo.com.