7.27.2021 A  juvenile Roseate Spoonbill(Platalea ajaja) was spotted by Vin Bihn on July 18 on the Casperkill in the Town of Poughkeepsie who made contact with the R.T. Waterman Bird Club.  Barbara and Alan Michelin confirmed the ID and subsequently, with landowner permission, the bird is being seen and photographed by many.  This sighting is a first-time record for Dutchess County. Other juveniles have or are being seen in NY and PA.

Considered an “accidental vagrant” Spoonbills are found along the Gulf Coast and Central and South America.  Nearly extirpated from the US in 1920, they have slowly increased in numbers.  Like herons/egrets they wander post-breeding but until 2018 rarely north of South Carolina.  Most sightings are of solitary immature birds in the summer months.

Contributed by:  Tom Lake, Stan DeOrsey

Submitted by:  Deb Tracy-Kral

Back to Latest Photo