How Did This Rare Pink Water Bird that’s Native to the Caribbean End Up in the Midwest?

Illinois bird watchers - it might be time for a mini road trip.

I was today years old when I learned what a Roseate Spoonbill is. It's a bird! Not just any bird, it's a rare pink water bird. I know what you're thinking - FLAMINGO!

Nope - not a flamingo. A Roseate Spoonbill looks like this ...

These birds are native to Florida's Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America. So when one was spotted in Michigan, obviously wildlife officials were a bit confused.

So how did it end up in the Midwest? Officials in Michigan said the first roseate spoonbill bird ever spotted in the wild in the state might have escaped from a zoo.

How STUNNING is that bird? I can't even imagine going on a walk in Michigan and seeing this bird. Once the news got out that this bird was in the area, local bird watchers from surrounding states started to ... flock ... to the area.

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According to WTVO Sally Most and her husband traveled roughly 200 miles from Fairmount, Indiana and they said -

After a time, you see a lot of the same birds, and then you see something unusual. … I took over 300 pictures of it last night. We’re going home happy campers.

Young spoonbills are known to wander in the late summer but wildlife officials really think this bird is either from a zoo or very confused. I hope it makes it back to its home safely.

H/T WTVO