What’s Idaho’s state bird doing in the Carolinas? So rare it’s ‘like seeing a penguin’
Birders at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina have been keeping an eye on a bright blue bird rarely seen in the eastern part of the country.
The mountain bluebird, affectionately named Rocky by bird enthusiasts, was spotted in early February by bird watchers who were struck by its bright blue feathers and the fact that it was hanging out at a beach just a few miles from Wilmington.
The species, which is Idaho’s state bird, is normally found in the mountains and higher elevations of western North America, but, somehow, Rocky ended up perhaps thousands of miles east.
“It would be kind of like seeing a penguin show up at Wrightsville Beach, it’s that out of the ordinary,” said Dorothy Sutherland, a nature photographer and bird enthusiast who lives in Leland, North Carolina.
The last time a mountain bluebird was reported in North Carolina was in 1985, but no photos were taken, Curtis Smalling, director of conservation for Audubon North Carolina, told McClatchy News.
“This one at Wrightsville Beach was kind of our first confirmed state record with lots of people seeing it and taking pictures of it,” he said.
The bright blue bird has been drawing attention from birders all over the country and getting traction on bird-watching Facebook groups.
“Once the word got out that there was a mountain bluebird at Wrightsville, everybody started going there with their cameras,” Sutherland said. “He was just beautiful to see.”
The fact that this species appeared in North Carolina isn’t a cause for concern, Smalling said. Birds have been known to fly great distances from their normal habitat, and it’s possible that Rocky stopped before he hit the ocean, he said.
“There’s no telling what triggers it, but they do wander, and they can go a long way when they set their mind to it,” he said.
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