Oregon rare bird: Brown Booby: October 6, 2012

Brown Booby. Photo by Noah Strycker.

On last weekend's pelagic trip from Newport, Oregon, Russ Namitz spotted a female Brown Booby about 1/2 mile in front of the boat. Noah Strycker got the above photo. Unfortunately, it was quickly a mile away before many in the stern could spot it, and then it was no longer identifiable with binoculars. We were NW of Newport, about 20 miles W of Depoe Bay. (Trip report.)

This is the 5th accepted Oregon record. Here are the previous Accepted records from the Oregon Bird Records Committee.

• October 3, 1998. 15 miles WSW of Depoe Bay, Lincoln Co. Juvenile. 6 written rare bird reports. (Almost exactly where we saw this bird above, on the same weekend, 14 years earlier!)
• May 2005. Off Tillamook and Lincoln Cos. Photo.
• October 26, 2008. Dead on beach. Cape Arago, Coos Co.
• October 28 to December 8, 2009. Coos Bay, Coos Co. Many photos. Here, and here.

There are three additional reports, not submitted to the OBRC.
July 25, 2005. 20 miles W Winchester Bay, Douglas Co. (2nd hand report)
July 25, 2005. On beach at Seaside, Clatsop Co. (2nd hand report)
November 22, 2009. Seen from Boiler Bay, Lincoln Co. (Good description)


Oregon Bird Records Committee pdf of Accepted records through April 2012.