Rare wading bird spotted in Minnesota

The first few days of June brought focused attention for birders seeking the rare and unusual here.

A limpkin was found at a waterfowl management area in Washington County, discovered by birder Ezra Hosch. It was very far from home on the first visit to the state for that species.

Limpkin sounds like some kind of baking mistake. Actually, it's a gangly wading-bird species with a "loud, anguished, wild-sounding scream/wail," as its call/song, according to a guide book by David Sibley.

Some observers actually observed the tall, brown, long-billed bird. Many others settled for heard-only, a birding term used reluctantly. The limpkin's unmistakable voice was said to be audible at 500 yards (about a third of a mile).

Limpkins live along the southeast coast, Florida being a good place to find one if you struck out here. Limpkins do not migrate, thus unlikely to err in migration planning.

There is no good reason for that bird to be seen here. Not that anyone cared.

Before the limpkin arrived to dominate local birding attention there was — and is — a long-eared owl with three chicks. The nest is in the Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area in Eden Prairie. Some photographers got photos of the adult and chicks lined up in plain sight like a family birthday picture. You can see I was not among them. The nest is in a cedar tree atop a hill gained by a long steep, muddy path. Nice bird, fun to see, photo barely worth the killer climb. You never know.

On days when either you or the birding is slow, remember the array of bird cams to be found online. A list of live video of nesting birds and birds at feeders can be found at allaboutbirds.org.