A Winter Wonder

Earlier this week I received a notification about a rare bird that made its way into Wisconsin, about an hour away from home. This bird, was lost, really lost - native to Europe and Asia it is rarely seen in the United States and this was the first recording in Wisconsin…

The species of rare bird is called a White Wagtail! For most folks in Europe and Asia, this is a very common bird, but for us here in Wisconsin and the surrounding area, a rare sight indeed.

I found time to sneak away this week and take my chance at spotting this little fella and I was lucky enough to capture a not-so-great-but-good-enough picture of ‘em. When I arrived, I saw other birders walking back to their vehicle, they mentioned that the bird was still there and pointed me in the direction.

I started walking down the shoreline - pretty weird to walk on sand in the winter - in the direction I was told the bird was. It’s hard to sneak upon a bird. It’s even harder to sneak up on a bird that is tiny. It’s even harder yet to sneak upon a tiny bird with the sun in your eyes and you don’t know where that bird exactly is.

Eventually, I was able to get to with 60-70 yards of the little guy and snap of a pic or two, but they didn’t turn out. I went to move around, to get the sun behind me, and unfortunately, that was it - the wagtail flew up and down the shoreline. Knowing I had a busy day ahead and not a lot of time, I called it quits, for now. I was able to check the box for a lifer of a bird as well as capture a quick, albeit poor, photo.

My plan is head back on Sunday if the weather is decent and the bird is still around - I am hearing it’s still there, but like most rare birds, you just never know. Rare birds tend to be ghosts in the wind.

A White Wagtail - Fujifilm X-S20 | 600mm | f5.6

Big shout out to the local birders who are local to Sturgeon Bay which discovered the Wagtail first. I appreciate them sharing on social media so that others (including myself) could partake in the fun.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

-Nathan