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Hundreds of bird enthusiasts have travelled from all corners of the country in an attempt to spy a rare bird never seen in the UK ... until now.

There has been much excitement in the world of bird spotting with the sighting of not one but two Brown Boobies in the county. The birds are more commonly seen in the Caribbean.

One has been seen around St Ives Bay in recent days while a second was spotted off The Lizard yesterday.

They are believed to be separate birds as their plumage suggests they are different ages.

The Brown Booby is a tropical bird, similar to a gannet, and is most commonly seen in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

A number of lucky people have seen this rare winged spectacle in Cornwall over the past few days, with the best sighting this morning (Tuesday, September 3) at Kynance Cove on the Lizard Peninsula.

Mermaid Pleasure Trips in Penzance posted on Facebook: “The first record of this species in Britain was in Carbis Bay last Sunday [August 25] but despite being photographed on the Monday morning managed to avoid being seen by all but a handful of lucky observers all week.

“It didn't appear at all on Friday despite nearly 400 birders searching from Godrevy to St Ives, and I had not seen it in six trips until this Saturday morning when it finally gave itself up, feeding with gannets and shags off Godrevy lighthouse.

“It was discovered sitting with shags and cormorants on the rocks a mere 20m off Porthgwidden beach, and stayed for almost an hour, obliging a steady stream of panic-stricken birders and an even greater number of bemused holidaymakers.”

(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)

Tyrone Burgin said: "This has made my day. I saw one of these in Newquay last week whilst surfing. I thought it looked odd but just thought it was a juvenile gannet."

Lizard National Trust also reported sightings on the peninsula via Facebook. As a result, the car park at Kynance Cove was packed with eager birdwatchers this morning.

They were treated to the sight of a booby, though it soon flew away.

A twitcher, who had travelled from Bristol (appropriately, if you are of a Carry On mind when it comes to boobies), said: "It was fantastic. We got really good views. Lots of people will be teasing their friends who got a really bad view in St Ives.

"It's a tropical water species. The closest it breeds to here is Cape Verde, so we're not quite sure why they're here. They might have been blown off course."

(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)

And in case you wondering, the bird’s name has nothing to do with the Carry On era. The English name "booby" was possibly based on the Spanish slang term bobo, meaning "stupid", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten.

Let’s hope they don’t end up in a booby pasty while visiting Cornwall.