Errant seabird returns
Saturday from ocean journeyThe red-footed booby trailed a yacht to Alaska
By Heather Tang
Star-BulletinA fowl stowaway will fly back to Hawaii -- in style -- Saturday after following an Alaska-bound yacht 1,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean.
The seabird will hitch a ride on Hawaiian Airlines and, upon arrival, be taken to the state veterinarian or Sea Life Park.
"Depending on the bird's condition, as soon as it's healthy enough to release, we'll let him go and see if he can do better this time," said Beth Flint, wildlife biologist at the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Alaskan wildlife biologists headed the project, making flight arrangements for the red-footed booby.
Since its accidental journey north, the bird has been basking under heat lamps at Anchorage's Bird Treatment and Learning Center, said Barbara Doak, rehabilitation director at the center.
The seabird began trailing a private yacht as it left Hawaii last week and was brought on board by captain Paul Edwards after being battered by fierce storms for eight days. Upon docking last Tuesday in Kodiak, Alaska, Edwards contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which flew the booby to Anchorage, where it was treated for hypothermia.
Alaskan wildlife officials report that the bird is now stable and being fed smelt, vitamins, and kept under heat lamps until return to Hawaii.
The red-footed bobby is a common tropical seabird in Hawaii. The largest colonies of the species are found at the Kaneohe Marine Base on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii's offshore islands.
