Rare sighting of tropical seabird reported near Lake Martin

The red-footed booby is rarely spotted in the continental United States and when it is, it’s almost always along the coast.

So when some lucky birders were treated to the sighting of a lifetime in Dadeville, they almost couldn’t believe their eyes.

Keep reading to find out more about their experience + learn all about the tropical seabird.

Spotted at Cherokee Ridge

According to a post on eBird, an online birding community, the bird was first spotted on March 7 by Jimmy Lanier, the 87-year-old founder of the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association.

The red-footed booby was perched high up on the historic firetower near the trailhead of Overlook Drive in Dadeville.

When his friends Steve and Julia arrived, they wanted to take a closer look.

“Jimmy commented on the unusual bird that had landed on the tower. I got my binoculars and looked at it. It looked like a goose with a strange pink head and a long hooked beak.”

Julia Thomas via eBird

Thomas said a younger couple was going to climb the tower so they asked if they could try to take a picture of the bird when they got close enough.

But it still wasn’t clear just what type of bird they had spotted.

They tried using different identification apps and websites before finally discovering it was a red-footed booby.

The bird stuck around through the following morning but was gone by Sunday afternoon as more and more birders arrived to try to get a glimpse of it.

“We hope that the bird will survive and make it back home. We are honored to have had such a special visitor to our area of the world.”

Julia Thomas

Red-footed booby

The tropical seabird spends most of its time around the equator and as far north as the Caribbean islands. But sightings anywhere in the continental United States are extremely rare.

“I had to slap myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

Scot Duncan, Alabama Audubon

According to Cornell’s All About Birds website, the Red-footed Booby is described as “a graceful, slim-winged seabird named for its vivid coral-red feet which males show off during courtship.”

The best place to spot the species is in Hawaii so getting to see one near Lake Martin is certainly a rarity.

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