WISCASSET NEWSPAPER • September 1, 2021
Last week we were at Pemaquid Point watching dozens of northern gannets skim over the ocean. Gannets are members of the Sulidae bird family, along with birds called boobies. Boobies, unlike gannets, inhabit tropical oceans. The first record of brown booby here in Maine did not occur until 2011. Since that time, there have been at least six records of this warm water species. Maine can add at least one more record this year, as one was spotted roosting on Great Duck Island in late July. Even more startling was the first-ever sighting of a masked booby in Maine waters. This one was also spotted and photographed from Mt. Desert Rock in early August. ~ Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells