Rare Bright Pink Bird Spotted in Wisconsin for the First Time in 178 Years
The roseate spoonbill — usually found in the southern United States — delighted birdwatchers with its rare appearance near Green Bay
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Roseate Spoonbill on the waterPink is making a splash in Wisconsin, but not because of the Barbie movie.
In late July, a birdwatcher near Green Bay, Wisconsin, spotted a rare bright pink bird known as a roseate spoonbill — the first confirmed sighting of the bird in the midwestern state in 178 years, Fox 11 News reported.
The roseate spoonbill has a distinctive pink coloring and a wide, flat beak. The birds were once common in the southeastern U.S. but are considered a vulnerable species today because of habitat loss, per the National Audobon Society.
Logan Lasee spotted the roseate spoonbill's return to Wisconsin first, spying the bird during a volunteer shift monitoring piping plovers, a small endangered shorebird, according to Smithsonian Magazine. While driving during the volunteer shift, Lasse spotted a flicker of bright pink out of the corner of his eye, per the outlet.
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Roseate spoonbill on the water"While I was looking out on a mudflat, this bird was actually hanging out with a flock of geese," Laser told Fox 11 News in a video interview. "And so I started calling people."
Lasee has spotted a roseate spoonbill in the past, but not in the Green Bay area, per the outlet.
"This is a really large shorebird that's typically seen in the very southern part of the United States," he said of the roseate spoonbill. "There's breeding colonies in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. And so for one to come up here, it's very rare."
The last known sighting of a roseate spoonbill in Wisconsin was in 1845, according to Green Bay Press-Gazette. Lasee is ecstatic to be the lucky birder to welcome the brightly-colored species back to the Badger State.
"I've been on cloud nine for days now," Lasee told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "I check almost every day now to see if it's still around."
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It's unclear what caused the roseate spoonbill to return to Wisconsin for the first time in over 175 years, but Lasee believes the bird's appearance could be connected to the weather.
"There's actually been a number of this species kind of blowing around the United States. So it might just be a weird year where they're being kind of tossed around," he told Fox 11 News.
Birdwatchers who've spotted the roseate spoonbill in Wisconsin have shared their sightings on Twitter (now known as X).
"Today was an unforgettable day!" Dexter Patterson (Wisco Birder) wrote on X, also sharing photos of their sighting. "Such a rare visitor to the Badger State! Respectfully cropped images to cherish this incredible encounter."
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