FORT MYERS, Fla — A South American small-billed elaenia was spotted at FGCU over the weekend. It's the first time the bird has ever been seen here in Florida. Fox 4’s Austin Schargorodski went to campus to talk with the ornithologist who saw the bird first.
Watch to see how Oscar Johnson managed to spot the rare bird:
FGCU Ornithologist Oscar Johnson told Schargorodski he came out to FGCU's Food Forest Friday afternoon hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare hummingbird a friend had spotted. But the moment he stepped through the gate, he said his attention shifted to something even rarer.
“Two seconds later I noticed a bird in this tree right in front of us, which was a small greyish flycatcher with white wing bars, it's a species I recognized from field work in Peru and Bolivia, it's common there. It was a small billed elenia which was, as you might expect, a South American species - very rare here in North America,” Johnson said.
And that's not an exaggeration. Johnson says this bird has only been seen six times on the continent, and this is the very first sighting in Florida. After posting about it in local birdwatching groups, he said hundreds of people started flocking from all over the state.
Jose Pedia has come out more than five times… and still hasn't seen it. “Doesn't matter. I had a great time looking for it. And that's the thing,” Pedia said.
You’re probably wondering how this bird got here. Johnson believes it flew in the wrong direction during migration. Instead of heading south through South America, it veered north… and ended up here.
Now, he's hoping it somehow finds its way. “Fingers crossed for this individual. But it's not on the best trajectory for survivorship. We're very excited to have seen it here and do wish it the best,” Johnson said.
