AN INDIANA FIRST SINCE 1850 PINK BIRD

[Marc]

Rare bird makes stop at Goose Pond earlier this month

Monday, June 22, 2009

Roseate Spoonbill.
(Photo courtesy of St. Louis Zoo.com)
On June 2, Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area became the first location in the state to record the sighting of a Roseate Spoonbill. The pink plumage and spoon shaped bill of the bird has been spotted on occasion in Indiana since the 1850s, however, the June 2 sighting is the only confirmed sighting of a Roseate Spoonbill ever in Indiana.
The excitement of the occasion had birdwatchers from all across Indiana and a few from Illinois traveling to Goose Pond to get their view of the unique bird.
The variety of bird species coming to Goose Pond continues to grow and is very impressive. The recent Greene County Big May Day Bird Count tallied 174 species. Last year those same results placed Greene County in a tie with Porter and Lake counties in northern Indiana for the most species recorded.
During the Henslow Sparrow survey on June 13, 192 Henslow's Sparrows were documented on the property. Henslow's Sparrow is listed as globally threatened and their presence at Goose Pond is significant.
A recent sighting of a Fulvous Whistling-Duck, if accepted by the Indiana Bird Records Committee, would be the first recorded in the state since 2002.
Join the Friends of Goose Pond for their annual Community Birding Day known as "Coming Home to Roost." The free event will meet July 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Farm and will be limited to 25 people.
An introductory talk with ice cream and cobbler will start the evening. Call the Goose Pond Property Office at 659-9901 to reserve your space.
To see a photos of the Roseate Spoonbill at the Goose Pond, go to the link provided by Goose Pond property manager Brad Feaster.
Flickr: jb.sullivan's Photostream...

 

[Woo]

Cool bit of Info

 

[Ashkelon]

Is that a red tag on its left foot?

 

[Marc]

Is that a red tag on its left foot?

that pic is of one thats in a zoo.

these are the pics of the wild one taken in indiana

Roseate Spoonbill by Jim Sullivan on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[Lucas156]

Wow thats interesting

 

[xamsx]

Pretty cool.

 

[Bill of Rights]

On June 2, Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area became the first location in the state to record the sighting of a Roseate Spoonbill. The pink plumage and spoon shaped bill of the bird has been spotted on occasion in Indiana since the 1850s, however, the June 2 sighting is the only confirmed sighting of a Roseate Spoonbill ever in Indiana.
...

Isn't this a contradiction??

Blessings,
Bill

 

[Pami]

Isn't this a contradiction??

Blessings,
Bill

being spotted and being confirmed are two different things.

Example: My mom once called the DNR because she thought she saw a Great Blue Heron. This would be a sighting. However, the response was that we have lots of large blue-colored herons in Indiana, but it was unlikely it was a Great Blue because they typically stay away from residential areas. If she had taken a photo of it, it would have been documented and confirmed.

 

[Bill of Rights]

being spotted and being confirmed are two different things.

Example: My mom once called the DNR because she thought she saw a Great Blue Heron. This would be a sighting. However, the response was that we have lots of large blue-colored herons in Indiana, but it was unlikely it was a Great Blue because they typically stay away from residential areas. If she had taken a photo of it, it would have been documented and confirmed.

Thanks for clarifying, Pami. Makes sense now.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[met eng gun nut]

That's cool did al gore say its because of global warming that we saw the bird?

 

[Britton]

Are they good to eat?

 

[right winger]

 

[shooter521]

Example: My mom once called the DNR because she thought she saw a Great Blue Heron. This would be a sighting. However, the response was that we have lots of large blue-colored herons in Indiana, but it was unlikely it was a Great Blue because they typically stay away from residential areas.

IMO, that DNR person was an idiot. The Great Blue Heron is the most common member of the heron family found in Indiana, and it can be seen every-friggin-where during the spring and summer. I regularly see them in the creek that runs under the Dandy Trail overpass between 38th St. and 21st St., and around the retention pond behind my house, and there's a pair of them that frequents the pond outside my office up here in Carmel.

 

[Boilers]

We have many heron. Great and a few lesser.
While vacationing at Indian Rocks Beach, underneath the Chitwoods by the way, there was Blue Heron that would wait on our picnic table on our patio in the mornings for us to wake up and feed it. Lazy bird!

Ours around HERE are skittish. But that one was a mooch. But it was nice enough. Would just hang out sitting on the porch with us. (It rained like all week there)

 

[shooter521]

Ours around HERE are skittish.

Ours too; we can get within maybe 50 yards of 'em before they freak out and take off. Big, beautiful birds though. We also get Green-Backed Herons pretty frequently, too, although being smaller, they're a lot harder to see unless they're on the wing.

 

[edsinger]

They think they have Ivory Billed Woodpeckers in Arkansas also, was supposed to be extinct..that would be cool!

 

[Kirk Freeman]

BoR, yes, big difference between spotting and confirmed.

Don't mess with the bird watchers. They are even more nuts/devoted than gun nuts.

So, did this bird lose its map? GPS malfunction? Just in for the Indy 500? Visiting a family of Northern Goshawks in Northern Indiana?