Rare bird spotted on South Shore, thrilling bird lovers, locals and photographers
A bird found in some of the southernmost parts of the United States made an exceedingly rare appearance in Massachusetts last week, delighting South Shore bird lovers, locals and photographers with its long spoon-shaped bill and distinct pink and white feathers.
The roseate spoonbill was spotted in Marshfield, its second-ever sighting in the Bay State, according to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, a leading bird and wildlife protection nonprofit.
The spoonbill ended up this far north "most likely with this storm we had, the nor'easter," Doug Lowry, a senior naturalist with the Audubon, said in a statement posted by the organization on Facebook . "Low-pressure systems come up the coast — they have counter-clockwise winds, and if you're a bird up flying and you get caught in that, [the spoonbill] could be riding it out until it peters out."
The bird may be disoriented, but will easily adapt, rest up and soon return to its warmer home in the south, Lowry said.
Roseate spoonbills are commonly located in coastal Florida, Texas and southwest Louisiana, according to the Audubon.
They are "gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close," the organization says, notable for their "big spatulate bill, bright pink plumage tones, naked greenish head."
The birds typically live in coastal marshes, lagoons, mudflats and mangroves, where they hunt the shallows for small fish and shellfish, the Audubon says.
In a Facebook post , Plymouth County and Cape Cod photographer Ken Grille described the bird as "mega-rare" in this area. He posted shots of the bird standing in shallow water and feasting on small fish.
Grille said he had photographed roseate spoonbills before, including in Aruba, but never from the overhead perspective he found last week.
"You just never know when you wake up what the day will bring," he wrote on Facebook.
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