Tropical brown booby seabird found shivering, injured, on Victoria waterfront

A powerful storm packing moisture from east of Hawaii lashed the B.C. coast in the days before the bird was found.

When the booby, believed to a young adult, was found Monday it was very ill, suffering from a small puncture to its chest, injuries and abrasions to its feet and was underweight.

“Based on her blood work and how thin she is, we are pretty guarded as far as her prognosis because when they get that emaciated they are pretty critical,” Sans said.

The bird is too weak to eat whole food so it is on a special diet that will keep its organs from shutting down.

Sans said it could take several days before the lethargic bird responds, and even longer before plans can be made for its release.

“If we can get her past the tough part, we have to see,” she said.

“With any seabird species we need them to be in excellent body condition and then also have pristine feathers so that their waterproofing is 100 per cent before they are released.”

The brown booby is a large seabird, with a wing span of nearly 1.5-metres and is identified by a solid brown head, neck, back and wings, with a white chest and lower body and a yellow beak.

The bird is usually spotted in Mexico, California and Hawaii where it’s renowned for dramatic 20 metre plunges into the sea to catch seafood such as squid and anchovies.

Sans said it was the first time the centre has cared for one of these seabirds, and staff are mulling the logistics of how to get it further south, if that’s determined to be the safest way to release the bird when the time comes.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Tropical brown booby seabird found shivering, injured, on Victoria waterfront

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