Bird watching enthusiasts from across the state are flocking to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge recently, hoping to catch sight and take pictures of a rare (for these parts) Roseate spoonbill.
On July 11, Wildlife Drive at the wildlife refuge by the bald eagle sculpture was lined with about three dozen vehicles , with an estimated 75 birders outside hoping to get a glimpse of the pinkish, medium-sized water bird with a football-shaped body and long legs. The bird’s long bill is flattened into a spoon shape at the end.
“The bird was quite cooperative for a few hours, feeding, preening and resting before flying toward Tschache Pool (at the refuge),” said Kyle Gage, acting president of the Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex, who was there that day.
Gage said the bird was still at the refuge this morning and can be seen either at Tschache Pool or May’s Point. It’s the second of two juvenile Roseate spoonbills spotted in Upstate New York within the past week and a half. Another was also seen on July 11 at Chenango Valley State Park in Broome County by Jay McGowan, son of Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
“(These are the) third and fourth sighting(s) ever in New York,” McGowan said.
In the United States, Roseate spoonbills can be normally found in southern Florida, coastal Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Their breeding range extends south from Florida through the Greater Antilles to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Gage said he was told by refuge staff the traffic along Wildlife Drive early last week was “phenomenal,” with bird watching enthusiasts coming from throughout Upstate New York and as far south as Long Island to see the bird. More than 100 sightings have been recorded on E-bird, a website affiliated with Cornell on which birders record their sightings.
Cars lined up along Wildlife Drive at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge as birders flock to see a rare (for these parts) Roseate spoonbill. Kyle Wage photo.
What are these birds doing in Upstate New York?
Gage said both birds appear to be juveniles, adding that they are “quite some distance from their normal territory.”
Prior to the New York sightings, he said there had been four to five sightings of Roseate spoonbills in Pennsylvania. Some hypothesized the birds may have been “storm-blown” north from the recent hurricane.
“But there were multiple sightings south of us before the storm,” Gage said. “All these are young birds, working their way north, exploring new territorie. Chances of them finding a mate and hanging around, though, are slim.”
Wage noted things are changing a lot in the natural world lately due to climate change.
“As (southern) birds continue to extend their ranges north, things like this will continue to happen,” he said.
Word of rare bird sightings travel fast in the birding community, Gage said, with birders checking out reports on E-bird and keeping each other informed with social media, text messages and emails.
And if the appearance of one unique southern bird wasn’t enough this month, Gage and McGowan said birders this week are excited about yet another, “out of place” species that just appeared at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
“There was a wood stork seen at the Montezuma this morning,” McGowan said.
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