Cruz

[Drunk Monk]

Birders are extremely excited about this. A few local friends have brought this up. 

Birders flock to Santa Cruz to spot rare Red Footed Booby
Updated: 9:49 AM PST Nov 17, 2022
[/url][url=https://www.ksbw.com/news-team/4c46d709-f813-4654-9dab-41a4c0c83ee1]Brisa Colón
Reporter

[b]SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —[/b]
A rare red-footed booby was spotted at the Santa Cruz Wharf. The tropical bird rarely migrated this far, leaving many in awe that it is here on the Central Coast.
“We only expect to see them in places like Hawaii and Baja California is probably as close as they normally live," said Ryan Carle, ecologist with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge. "This is about as far of the tropical range they get."
It's not clear why it is here.
"We can't ask it questions of why it showed up here, but sometimes birds get sides led for whatever reason,” said Kevin Condon, director of The Bird School Project. 
The red-footed booby looks like a pelican. It has a long pointy bill and a blue wash on its face. Experts said the bird in Santa Cruz is a young bird as its feet aren’t bright red, rather, they are pale red. 
Carle says the bird is probably a lost bird and says it will be interesting to see if the bird sticks around during the cold Central Coast winter. 
“It seems like the booby has been doing fine finding food it goes off in the day from the wharf, and it seems to be going to catch fish,” Carle said. 
“The Monterey Bay just has so many different ecosystems and habitats that birds can utilize and sometimes stay,” Condon said. 
The bird has been seen landing on boats and most often seen on the wharf. 
"What I've heard is that coming at dawn or at dusk to the end of the ward is where you can observe this bird,” Condon said. 
Experts say the bird possibly has island syndrome, which makes it less afraid of humans. So, while the bird may not appear to be afraid as humans, doesn’t mean people should approach or touch the bird. So, if someone goes to the wharf, experts say they should keep a responsible distance. 
Avid bird watchers on the wharf say this is a bird on the top of their list. 
"We've been lifelong birders we keep a list of all the birds we've seen. And this is a life bird we can add him to our list,” says the Easterlings.

There's also a bald eagle in town. It was pointed out to Stacy a few days ago. in a tree, but she couldn't quite make it out. She could see a big bird but couldn't distinguish it as bald. Another friend caught some nice photos of it.

The monarchs are in town too, allegedly in two places - Natural Bridges like usual and somewhere else that I've just forgotten as I was posting this.

I've seen more deer over the last week, but most of them were on that long detour I took last week when HWY17 was closed..