Bangor Marina is not the only spot on the island of Ireland that welcomed an unusual winged visitor this week – as locals in Greystones were treated to the sight of a sea bird usually found in the tropical Atlantic.
As RTÉ News reports, the large male brown booby who landed at the beach in the Co Wicklow town this past Tuesday (14 July) was the first recorded signing of the species here.
However, it was later reported that the bird appeared was suffering from exhaustion, likely a result of being blown so far off course by an Atlantic storm, and died in the care of a wildlife rescue centre in Kildare.
Niall Hatch from BirdWatch Ireland commented: “To see one in Europe is really unusual … There’s a record from 2016 on a boat offshore from the Skellig islands but no one got to see it.”
And this bird may not have been alone in his long-distance travels across the Atlantic, as suspected sightings of his fellow brown boobies have been on the rise in waters off southern England and the continent.
RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.
This story was updated on Sunday 19 July.
