Rare Brown Booby Bird Sighting in Southern Indiana Ruffles State Park’s Feathers

CHICAGO (CBS) — A rare bird sighting is ruffling some feathers in southern Indiana.

A Brown Booby bird was spotted at Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana.

This is a particularly rare sighting because the Brown Booby is usually found in tropical locations. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, this is the second time the seabird species has been found in the state.

The first Brown Booby bird was discovered in Zionsville in 2019.

Photographer Donald Estep captured the bird dramatically driving into a lake to catch bluegill with its beak. Fish is a standard part of his diet.

Brown Booby birds are among the species listed in Indiana. The species was listed as an Illinois state bird in 2022, according to the Illinois Ornithological Society.

State park guests who come to view the bird give it space to rest and eat so it can stay healthy and eventually return to its ocean home.

According to the National Audobon Society, brown boobies are common at sea, even far from land, over warm waters in the tropics and subtropics. It is often found close to shore, especially around islands, and sometimes forages in shallow or muddy water.

In North America it is most often seen near the Dry Tortugas, Florida, where it perches in trees or on navigation markers.