Michael Buckland, who was on holiday in Gower, South Wales, found a distressed Northern Gannet on the beach and picked it up thinking to rescue it. The bird became panicked by an approaching dog and started lashing out, nearly blinding Buckland in both eyes. The story, and a picture of the victim, can be found here.
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
Poor guy. Not for nothing does the USFWS only allow biologists to work with Masked Boobies on islands with airstrips.
What a terrible story.