David's Images of the Day Photoblog
At least three of the Masked Boobies remained with the ship overnight. At dawn one was up on the mast. Once the sun rose, they flew above the ship for a while, then flew away.
As soon as the sun was up there were a number of Brown Boobies using the thermals above the MV World Odyssey as they searched for flying fish. As the sun was setting a Brown Booby landed on one of the ship’s mast and started preening. Later in the evening I came across a Masked Booby on the deck of the ship. We finally had close up confirmation that there were Masked Boobies following the ship. There wasn’t room for the large bird to take off from the deck. Crew members from the ship covered it with a blanket and brought it to an area that was windy and clear of obstructions so it could take off.
Brown Boobies soaring in the early morning sun viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.
A large Masked Brown Booby Stowaway on the desk of the MV World Odyssey. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery. (David J Mathre)
During the voyage we had several discussions regarding the identity of the Boobies that followed the MV World Odyssey across the Pacific Ocean. We were in general agreement that the birds following the ship before Hawaii were Brown Boobies. Then after Hawaii, we had both Brown Boobies and Masked Boobies. The Brown Boobies had three color patterns — all brown; brown top with tan/mottled brown bottom; or brown top with white bottom. I now understand these are the different juvenile through adult forms of the Brown Booby. The Masked Boobies were mostly white with black on the ends of the upper wings. It was bright and sunny on this day. We had twenty plus of the Bobbies using the thermals from the ship to soar and then dive for flying fish. I actually captured a sequence of images where a Brown Booby caught a flying fish.
Brown Booby with dark brown top and bottom. The individual images in the slide show are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Brown Booby with brown top and and tan or mottled light brown bottom. The individual images in the slide show are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Brown Booby with brown top and and white bottom. The individual images in the slide show are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Masked Booby mostly white with black on the ends of the upper wings. The individual images in the slide show are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Brown Booby caught a Flying Fish The individual images in the slide show are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
At midday I noticed a Booby flying low to the water at a distance. It looked like a Booby. Later at dusk, four of the birds soared over the MV World Odyssey. We tentatively identified these as Masked Boobies rather than Brown Boobies.
Aft Deck Statue Catching the Rainbow. Later that evening a Masked Booby decided to spend the night on the forward deck. Actually, I think after the bird landed it found out that there was not enough room to take off. The Masked Booby is a big bird. Before the students could harass it, or try to feed it bread crew members came out with a blanket to cover the bird. They then took it to an aft deck where there was room for it to take off and fly away.
Individual images from the slide show can be viewed here.