Rare tropical bird sighting has birders flocking to Windsor this week

A rare bird had birders flocking to Windsor, Ont.,this week to catch a glimpse.

It's called a tropical kingbird. Originally from the Gulf of Mexico, the birdwas spotted fluttering around the city Monday morning and remained into the day on Tuesday as well.

Jeremy Bensette, one of a few year-round resident birders from the Point Pelee area, saidthe bird was first spotted along side the Detroit River which mobilized a number of local bird watchers who were followed by some out-of-towners.

Bensette said there have been a number of vagrant birds found in the northeast of North America in recent days, likely pulled north from the tropics inone of the recent large hurricanes.

Birders delight in rare bird sighting

2 years ago

Duration 1:26

Some birders travelled all the way from the Greater Toronto Area to catch a glimpse of the Tropical Kingbird, a rare bird from the Gulf of Mexico that showed up in Windsor on Tuesday.

"Sometimes [in] the weeks following, these birds are found surviving in natural areas, in the Great Lakes region or on the East coast," he said."No one knows for sure, but that's likely where this what turned out to be a tropical kingbird, came from."

Big year, big spotting

Robert Baumander, from Brantford, Ont.,has been travelling acrossthe country this year trying to see as many bird species as possible.

Having seen 443 bird species just this year, he's checked most common birds off the list. Now he's pursuing the more rare species, like the tropical kingbird.

"It landed nice and close so it was nice to get a good look at get pictures," Baumander said.

"It's a really rare bird that I was looking to get for my list and for my Canada big year."

Joanne Redwood from Burlington heard the report about the kingbirdon Monday. She gambled taking the three hour drive hoping to cash out with what she calls a 'life bird' sighting.

"A life bird is a bird you've never seen before," she said.

"It did pay off... It doesn't always but usually I've been pretty lucky."