Two divers have filmed an extraordinary encounter with a red-footed booby off the coast of Dorset in South England.
It's only the third time the charismatic seabird species has been recorded in Britain, following one in the Isles of Scilly in 2023 and another in East Sussex in 2016.
Red-footed boobies (Sula sula) are usually found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans – including the Galápagos Islands.
The gannet-sized bird was caught on camera by divers Jane and Vince Jenkins on 24 June, when it landed on their boat at Worbarrow Bay near Lulworth Cove.
Red-footed boobies are strong flyers, travelling up to 90 miles a day to forage for food. Like gannets, they are diving birds that use their aerodynamic bodies to puncture the water's surface to catch fish and squid.
Almost 80cm in height with a one-metre wingspan, these gregarious seabirds are an imposing sight.
"As you can imagine, we just froze, as it was so close!" Vince told the Dorset Bird Club.
"We have seen blue-footed boobies before when diving in the tropics, most notably off Socorro Island (250 km out into the Pacific from Mexico), but we did not know of this bird's identity until we showed the photos a few days later to a birding friend who lives in our village."
Reports of the same bird were made earlier in the afternoon (24 June) at Portland Bill.
All three British records of the red-footed booby have occurred within the past eight years. There have also been several recent records on mainland Europe, including three in France and five in Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The Dorset Bird Club says that "warming seas as a result of climate change are undoubtedly the leading cause behind the now-regular appearance of tropical Sula species in British waters."
Read more about Jane and Vince Jenkins' amazing red-footed booby encounter.
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