Bird watchers flock to GH to spy rare bird

Thu, May 8, 2008

Bird watchers spotted the first neotropic cormorant ever reported in Michigan off the Grand Haven pier head Monday.

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The species typically frequents Texas and Mexico, but has been sighted as far north as Minnesota and Ontario in the last several years.

"For someone who's a birder, you're always hoping to find something interesting like that — so for me it's pretty exciting," Ottawa County Naturalist Chip Francke said.

Francke first eyed the vagrant bird Monday morning while guiding a birding tour in Grand Haven. He saw a smaller cormorant with a longer tail among a group of feeding double-crested cormorants. Francke said he wasn't positive it was a neotropic cormorant, but identified a blackish bird with a distinct white "V" marking behind the bill.

The bird is typically 26 inches long with a 40-inch wingspan, according to National Geographic's bird guide.

Francke announced the sighting on a bird alert Web site Monday, causing bird enthusiasts from across the state and region to migrate to Grand Haven.

Adam Byrne said he has seen 387 of the 432 bird species ever reported in Michigan, more than any other bird watcher. He drove from north of Lansing to see and photograph the bird Tuesday morning.

Others drove from as far as Detroit and Traverse City to see the bird Tuesday, Byrne said.

"This is a pretty big deal," Byrne said. "We may never see another one again. It's hard to know what these guys are doing when they get up here."

The neotropic cormorant was seen feeding farther off the south pier again Wednesday morning.

Caleb Putnam, coordinator of the Audobon Society's Michigan Important Bird Areas Program, wrote on a Web alert that spotting the neotropic cormorant may take patience because the bird was constantly diving underwater to catch fish.

Byrne wasn't sure how long the bird may be in Grand Haven, but said it will likely continue to associate with the double-crested cormorants.

The bird isn't at risk, because it's clearly catching fish, but will have trouble finding a mate, Byrne said.

"His chances of reproductive success are low at this point," he said.

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The first reported sighting of another uncommon bird, the violet-green swallow, occurred April 27 in Marquette, Byrne said. Violet-green swallows frequent the western United States, but are rarely seen east of the Mississippi River.

"If nothing else happens this spring, this would be a good season already," Byrne said.