'Once in a lifetime': Rare bird seen for first time in Canada in Thedford, Ont.
CTV
Over the past two days, hundreds of bird enthusiasts have flocked to a lagoon in Thedford, Ont. to catch a glimpse of a bird never before seen in Canada.
Over the past two days, hundreds of bird enthusiasts have flocked to a lagoon in Thedford, Ont. to catch a glimpse of a bird never before seen in Canada.
"I’m here for the marsh sandpiper,” says Sue Deadman, who travelled nearly 400 kilometres from Orillia, Ont. to see it.
A few metres away was Brian Morin, a bird enthusiast left his home in Cornwall, Ont. at 2 a.m. to get there. But the 700 kilometre trip was worth the wait.
“This is the first record for Canada,” says Morin.
“It's a shorebird which may not look that much different from the other birds that are around, but when you get something like this, it's a one of a kind. Most people have never seen this unless you've traveled the world,” Morin adds.
Local birder James Holdsworth was the first to spot the sandpiper from the road near the lagoons. He often stops in that spot, and couldn’t believe his eyes Saturday.