We are treating a Red-Footed Booby – a very rare visitor to Southern California – at our Los Angeles Center.
The seabird was found September 13th by Redondo Beach Animal Control on the Redondo Beach fishing pier. The officer observed that the bird was not moving.
Upon initial exam, the Booby was found to be molting with very poor feather quality. It had some mild eye trauma that has since been resolved.
The bird is doing well and it recently got moved into the aviary. The clinic staff is working on getting the bird to self feed, so, for now, it is getting supplemental nutrition and hydration. We will keep you updated on it’s progress.
The Red-Footed Booby (Sula sula) is among the smallest of Boobies. It’s a strong flier and will fly long distances in search of food.
This species is an uncommon west coast visitor and has been seen only rarely along the California coast. The Red-Footed Booby usually can be found in tropical and sub-tropical waters across the globe.
cool, how is the bird doing
when/where will you be releasing it back to the ocean?
I would like to see it fly back to freedom
Paul: The Red-footed Booby is still in care but we hope to release it soon.