As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday 19 October 2012

Birders flock to island for rare find


Wood sandpiper has never before been seen in region
Nobody is quite sure when the wood sandpiper will leave Conanicut Island or how it got here, but with the colder weather approaching, most think the sandpiper won’t be around much longer.  Jamestown received an unexpected swarm of tourists over the weekend, and the reason for the uptick was the most unforeseen guest of all: a 2-ounce bird.
To the average person, the visitor was nothing more than a shorebird whose length was shorter than a standard ruler. But to birders, it was the opportunity of a lifetime: This is just the seventh time in the history of the Lower 48 states that the wood sandpiper has been confi rmed, according to Rachel Farrell, the state’s unofficial record keeper of birds. It’s also the first time it’s been spotted in New England.
Farrell was the person who got the news out that the sandpiper was spotted. For 11 years she has run a private daily listserv that allows her to email hundreds of birders with updates on where and when rare birds can be located.

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