Rare Bird Found at Veterans Park

By John Pogacnik, Biologist

A limpkin was found at Veterans Park in Mentor on October 14 by local birder Sally Isacco.

What is a limpkin you might ask? A limpkin is a wading bird that looks like a cross between a sandpiper and a sandhill crane. In fact, it has been put in its own family, Aramidae, that is sandwiched between cranes and sandpipers. It is the only species in that family. Limpkin are native to South and Central America and are also found in Florida. They feed primarily on snails and the one found at Veterans Park was observed eating several. This species has been expanding its range in North America due to the increase in snails. In Florida, its diet had been primarily apple snails, but the increase in non-native snails such as mystery snails has allowed it to increase its range (they can now be found breeding in Georgia). Some of the escaped mystery snails have even been found in parts of Lake County.

The general wisdom in North America is that birds head north in the spring and south in the fall. However there is another type of migration known as post-breeding dispersal. Once they are done breeding, some birds wander in other directions rather than south. Herons are a good example of this with birds dispersing well north of their typical range. Last year, Roseate spoonbills, another Southeast United States species dispersed northward and were found in many states well north of their typical range (some were even found in Ohio). This year has been the year for limpkins to disperse northward.

This limpkin was found at Veterans Park probing for snails. When it would find one, it would walk
to the edge and beat the snail on a piece of wood to break its shell and then eat it.

The first Ohio limpkin was thought to be found in Orrville on July 6. It turns out another limpkin was photographed at Mentor Marsh on July 3, so the Mentor bird was the first Ohio record. Someone looked at photos and was able to determine that the two birds were not the same (the Orrville bird was younger). A limpkin has been present in the Magee Marsh area in Ottawa County for more than a month. A comparison of that bird and the Veterans Park bird shows that they are two different birds. The Veterans Park bird is the same age as the bird that was found in Mentor in July and the Magee Marsh bird is the same age as the Orrville bird, which makes us wonder if these are the same two birds found in July. Whatever the case, the limpkin is an interesting bird to see and enjoy.