“I've seen him once before in Australia, so that's his normal habitat way over the other side of the world. “He's just he's a beautiful little bird," says Puttock. But Bryan Puttock from Burlington and others were using a scope to observe. Most of the birders could not get a good shot with their camera, as the sandpiper was located across the lagoon.
This is the first one, and you couldn't get a better bird to start the program,” Nagy says. It’s to keep everything organized and safe for the birds and the people. “It's for situations exactly like this where a rare bird comes to a private property or areas where we don't have access, and we work together with the landowners or with the municipalities to try and gain access. (Brent Lale / CTV News)“The OFO just launched the Ontario rare bird ambassador program,” says Susan Nagy, an OFO board director. It’s the first time the bird has been recorded in Canada. over the past two days to catch a glimpse of the marsh sandpiper. Hundreds of bird enthusiasts from across the province and Michigan have been flocking to Thedford, Ont. Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) President Jeff Skevington immediately contacted Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber and arranged access to the Thedford Lagoons, which is private property owned by the municipality.Īfter they were given approval, more than 500 people have shown up on Sunday and Monday. When word got out that Holdsworth had spotted the marsh sandpiper, bird watchers wanted their own sightings. This Asiatic bird barely shows up on the west coast of North America and in Alaska occasionally, but it's even a rare bird on the Atlantic coast on the British side. (Source: Matt Parsons)“When I saw that, my heart was beating, hands shaking, and just disbelief that this was actually here. The marsh sandpiper differs from lesser yellowlegs in that it has a very pale head and neck, long thin bill, long green legs and white wedge up the back. “When it flies it has a big V of white up the back which is very distinctive, and it's got long green legs, unlike anything in North America,” says Holdsworth. He says he knew right away it was something special as it looked similar to other yellowlegs in the area, but could tell by the pale colour in the head and neck that it was a sandpiper. “I couldn't have picked anything rare if I tried terms of like a fantasy board.” “It’s mind blowing rarity,” says Holdsworth. He often stops in that spot, and couldn’t believe his eyes Saturday. Local birder James Holdsworth was the first to spot the sandpiper from the road near the lagoons. to catch a glimpse of the marsh sandpiper. Most people have never seen this unless you've traveled the world,” Morin adds.īrian Morin drove nearly 700 km from Cornwall, Ont. “It's a shorebird which may not look that much different from the other birds that are around, but when you get something like this, it's a one of a kind.
“This is the first record for Canada,” says Morin.
But the 700 kilometre trip was worth the wait. to see it.Ī few metres away was Brian Morin, a bird enthusiast left his home in Cornwall, Ont. "I’m here for the marsh sandpiper,” says Sue Deadman, who travelled nearly 400 kilometres from Orillia, Ont.
to catch a glimpse of a bird never before seen in Canada. Over the past two days, hundreds of bird enthusiasts have flocked to a lagoon in Thedford, Ont.