“The red-winged blackbird is one of the most common birds in North America...
But on the remote Scottish island of North Ronaldsay, the first-in-Europe appearance of a single red-winged blackbird has thrown British birdwatchers into a frantic race to throng north before it’s too late...
British birders have chartered at least 4 airplane trips to the island, with as many as 12 other private aircraft making the journey purely for bird reasons.
Other birders have simply dropped everything to embark on the epic(by British standards) 18-hour drive to the remote island, which lies as far north as Arctic Quebec...
It is the first time a red-winged blackbird has ever been spotted in Europe, leading to speculation that it was either blown across the sea- or hitched a ride on a trans-Atlantic freighter...
The island is now so packed with birdwatchers that the North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory has had to begin corralling the visitors into designation areas & then sending out a staff member to gently 'flush’ the blackbird towards them...”
Tristin Hopper
The Gazette, Montreal
May 3/2017
Cute Critter Pic
Weekly Chuckle
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