Rare Pink Water Bird Lands In Saline, First Roseate Spoonbill Sighting In Michigan

SALINE, Mich. (AP) — Bird lovers with cameras and binoculars are traveling to a stream in Saline, Michigan, to see a rare creature with pink feathers and a long bill.

A roseate spoonbill, left, rests on a sandbar in a marshy area of Wilderness Park off Saline-Milan Road in Saline, Mich., on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The bird typically lives in the Gulf Coast region. (Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press via AP)

The roseate spoonbill was found in Saline in the Koch Warner Drain, the first to be seen in Michigan, said Molly Keenan of Michigan Audubon.

People line the roadway along the Koch Warner Drain on Saline-Milan Road in Saline, Mich., on Monday, July 19, 2021, with their cameras and binoculars while trying to get a look at a roseate spoonbill that has been hanging out in the waterway. The bird typically lives in the Gulf Coast region. (Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press via AP)

The bird, which typically lives in the Gulf Coast region, escaped from a zoo or is "very confused," said Saline police, which placed traffic cones on a road to manage the flow of people.

"Sometimes they wander a bit too far," said Benjamin Winger, bird curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

A roseate spoonbill, second from right, rests on a sandbar in a marshy area of Wilderness Park off Saline-Milan Road in Saline, Mich., on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The bird typically lives in the Gulf Coast region.(Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press via AP)

Whatever the reason, word has spread about the bird. Sally Most and her husband traveled roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) from Fairmount, Indiana.

"After a time, you see a lot of the same birds, and then you see something unusual. ... I took over 300 pictures of it last night," Most told the Detroit Free Press. "We're going home, happy campers."

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