Photo credit: Stephen Holloway
Lots of birds enjoy a holiday away from it all. That’s why we go on migrations. But when we choose to go somewhere a little unexpected, humans can get terribly excited. And that’s exactly what happened when one of my Caribbean cousins decided to come on a break this side of the Atlantic. Yes, a Red Footed Booby booked a holiday staying on top of the iconic Bishops Rock Lighthouse off the Isles of Scilly. The accommodation came with sea views all around and a ready supply of fish just a beak’s grab away. It should have been bliss, except that a bunch of humans in a boat noticed him up there. Was it a Gannet with sunburnt feet? Had someone stuck a stuffed bird up there as some kind of joke? No, it really was a Red Footed Booby! And before long, the Booby’s stay turned into a holiday from hell. A sub-species of humans called “Twitchers” raced to the islands booking every single flight and boat crossing that was available. Some even chartered their own boats out of Penzance, and soon a small flotilla of vessels was circling the lighthouse. These Twitchers looked like they could have been cloned. They all arrived with the same plumage; woolly hats; khaki coats; untidy beards and with outrageously large telescopes, binoculars and cameras. And yes, they lived up to their name. They couldn’t keep still. They kept twitching with excitement.
