Wayward duck in Niagara draws mad rush of birders looking to photograph the 'mega-rarity'
CBC
There's a celebrity in Grimsby, Ont. — and there don't seem to be concerns about the parade of people taking photographs or efforts to "duck" them.
The popular visitor is a cinnamon teal — a small duck from western North America that is rarely seen in Ontario. In fact, local birders say this may be the first sighting of one in Niagara.
The teal is "a mega-rarity," Marcie Jacklin, a birder for 35 years, told CBC Hamilton.
The Fort Erie, Ont., resident drove to Grimsby to see it on Monday. It was her first cinnamon teal, and the 410th species she's seen in the province.
The Hamilton Naturalist Club announced that on Sept. 15, bird watcher Kathy Johnson from Smithville spotted the cinnamon teal in the Grimsby Wetlands. That kicked off a mad rush of birders keen to see the duck. At time of publication, over 70 people had logged sightings of the teal on Ebird.
Jacklin said she learned about it on a birding Discord server Sunday night.
"Birders have an amazing social media presence," she said, and word travels fast.
"My heart rate goes up and I start the chase," Jacklin said, noting she was lying awake Sunday night wondering if the cinnamon teal would still be there come morning.
Before dawn, Jacklin, who is the top birder in Niagara according to the popular Ebird app and website, drove to Grimsby. Much to her delight, the cinnamon teal was still in the wetlands, hidden among the bulrushes.
Jacklin was joined by 20 or 30 other birders throughout the day, she said, including her friends Kayo Roy and Bob Curry, who've written books on birds in Niagara and Hamilton, respectively. Jacklin contributed chapters to Roy's book, Niagara Birds.
By now, Jacklin said, "I'm guessing it's well over 200 people" who've come to see the cinnamon teal.
"It really has generated a lot of interest across the province."
She said she expects people who work during the week to come to the wetland this weekend, and added she has friends from New York state who plan to make the trip.
"This is a rare enough bird that they would come to see it."
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