Just a month removed from the discovery of a
wood sandpiper in Marsh Meadows, another rare bird has appeared to have gotten
lost and found its way onto Conanicut Island.
A mountain bluebird was spotted and confirmed at
Fort Getty Saturday, 2,000 miles east of its normal rage. The bird, which is
about 6 inches long and weighs an ounce, is typically found in the western
United States and Canada. It can be found as far south as Mexico and as far
north as Alaska, but it usually doesn’t wander east of Colorado.
Last month’s discovery of the wood sandpiper was
the first confirmed sighting ever in New England. The bluebird confirmation
Saturday is just the second time it has ever been seen in Rhode Island,
according to Rachel Farrell, the state’s unofficial record keeper of birds. In
1994, a speciman was found dead in the state.
The mountain bluebird at Fort Getty was first
spotted by Jamestown resident Marci Lindsay on Oct. 28. Typically found in the
western United States, it is the state bird of both Idaho and
Nevada. The bird was first sighted by Jamestowner
Marci Lindsay on Oct. 28. She called Chris Powell, an avid birder on the
island, but Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent nor’easter made it difficult to
make a confirmation.
Saturday, Powell received another phone call
from Lindsay saying that she again spotted the bird. Powell, along with his
wife Candy, who is also a birder, immediately drove to the park. He spotted it
and confirmed it as a mountain bluebird.
Continued:
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