Deer hunter discovers rare subtropical wood stork in the wilds of Wisconsin

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A very rare and apparently very confused subtropical wood stork somehow found its way to the wilds of Wisconsin.

A hunter scouting for deer first sighted the bird Sunday in a remote section of the Mud Lake Wildlife Area in Columbia County, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Madison, the state's capital, said Horicon Marsh Bird Club President Jeff Bahls.

The hunter snapped some photos of the stork and sent them to Bahls, who doubles as a wildlife technician for the state Department of Natural Resources. Bahls confirmed that the bird in question was indeed a wood stork.

He said it was likely a juvenile that may have hatched this spring since its bill was light-colored. Adult wood storks' bills typically turn black as they mature, he said.

Bahls trekked into the wildlife area and saw the bird for himself on Monday, he said. Some other hikers also glimpsed the stork that day, he said. It hasn't been seen since Tuesday morning, when it was spotted flying northeast with a flock of pelicans, Bahls said.

Wood storks are typically found in Gulf Coast states and Central and South America. They're listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. They're the only stork species that breeds in the United States, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Wood storks typically grow as long as 35 to 45 inches (89 to 114 centimeters) with wingspans reaching around 5 1/2 feet (1.7 meters). Their heads and upper necks are covered with scaly gray skin rather than feathers. The only sound they can produce is a hissing noise.

Climate change and habitat loss have been forcing birds north. Immature wood storks have no territory and typically explore during the late summer, Bahls said. The one that visited Wisconsin probably just got lost, he said.

Birders flocked to Green Bay in August 2023 after a shorebird known as a roseate spoonbill was spotted in the area, the first sighting of such a bird in Wisconsin since 1845, and that bird was dead.

Like the wood stork, that species is usually found in Gulf Coast states and Central and South America. Birders and scientists speculated that a storm blew the bird off course or, like the wood stork, it just got lost.

“It's always fascinating where these birds come from and where they end up,” Bahls said. “This is the time of year when we do get these oddball stray birds.”