Masked Booby at SPI, Willacy Co, 7/22/23

Wow it's been a long time since I've made a post.  May's spring migration migration here at Progreso Lakes was a real dud.  Good rains gave us lots of butterflies but warblers failed to materialize.  I think the April 28 storm with 80 mph wind and the resulting tree damage may have played a role.  Then it quit raining starting with June and daily high temperatures over 100 have been the norm and that has continued through July and into August.  

Back on July 22, I made a run up the beach at South Padre Island with the intent of finding a frigatebird for Willacy County.  It used to be that driving the beach wasn't that big a deal.  Yes there might be a rough spot that required four wheel drive but mostly it was pretty smooth.  But anymore the beach seems to always be rough with little hard sand along the water.  It may well be the result of higher sea levels these days.  Anyway it's not as fun anymore and I'm always having to keep the rpms up on our Jeep to plow through the deep sand.  I made it up to just a couple miles short of the Port Mansfield channel when I decided I was waisting my time.  There were plenty of birds but just the most common stuff.

So I turned around and started the long painful slog back south.  And then about four miles north of the Cameron County line I spotted a large mostly white bird cruising south about 100 yards aff shore.  I put the binocs on it and sure enough it was a booby.  Problem was it was moving fast and when I stopped to photograph it all I could get was a rear view shot.  So I punched down on the gas, flying through the sand, and eventually got ahead of the fast moving booby.  I was able to get a few shot as is cruised past me, landed on the water and then abruptly made a ninty degree turn and headed out to see.

Years ago the Masked Booby was know as the Blue-faced Booby.  They're pretty common in the pelagic waters of the Gulf and farther south.  It's the first one I've ever found from the beach and was bird #292 for my Willacy County list.  So a boring day turned into a good day!