A Limpkin in Ontario!

On December 21, Deryl traveled to Chatham-Kent in search of a Limpkin that has been reported for the past few days. Earlier this fall, one was found in the heart of Lambton County. The only person to see it was the landowner who posted a photo on Facebook asking for identification assistance. A few birders unsuccessfully looked for it at that time. It is possible there has been more than one Limpkin in Ontario this fall. Limpkins are considered to be non-migratory but individuals are occasionally found far from their range which extends from Florida, south through much of South America. Visits to Ontario this fall are possibly the first records of the species in our Province!

Limpkins favour freshwater, shallow swamp-forests with slow moving creeks and rivers. Large snails and mussels are the main source of food, but they will also eat seeds, insects, lizards, frogs and crustaceans. They are considered to be Goose-sized or larger, but are still smaller than Great Blue Herons.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Limpkin/id

After successfully finding the Limpkin, Deryl continued on his way to Point Pelee where he saw another rarity. A Townsend Solitaire has been in the park for a few weeks. Finding a grey bird in a grey tree with grey skies in the background could be a challenge. However, the bird has been spotted in the same basic location each day so it didn't take long to locate.

Townsend Solitaires are regular visitors to Ontario in the fall but are irregularly seen in Lambton County. Their native range is the western half of North America. Berries are a favourite food during the cold months. One study suggested they would need to eat between 42,000 and 84,000 juniper berries to survive the winter!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Townsends_Solitaire/overview