The Red-Footed Booby is a large seabird that soars over tropical oceans and very occasionally comes to Florida or the Dry Tortugas. But this one came to North Carolina and plopped down on a wooden bridge beside a pond. Just down the road from the State Farmers Market.
Immediately the word got out and a huge crowd of bird maniacs descended, requiring several city parks and recreation guys to come for crowd control. The bridge was closed to hikers where he was perched, so I trotted all the way around the park to a closer point on the other side of the bridge on the precipice of a steep hill. I arrived sweating and blinded by foggy glasses.