CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In Portland, a rare bird has recently been sighted and other unique species have also been spotted, leaving many fluttering in disbelief.
"He kind of freaked out and couldn't believe it. He took a video and sent it out and yes it was,” local bird expert, Clay Taylor said.
The cause of that big commotion was this fluffy, little, yellow bird known as the cattle tyrant. Bird watcher Mike Nelson couldn't believe a bird usually found in South America is flying around downtown Corpus Christi.
"It's the first time in the U.S. It was very surprising,” Nelson said.
Nelsons also surprised to hear even flamingos are relaxing in the waters of Port Aransas.
"We're going to see the flamingos after and if we get this bird,” Nelson said.
The lists of rare birds seen in the Coastal Bend doesn't end there. Taylor told KRIS 6 News that other unique bird species stop here during the fall migration season, but this year is especially interesting.
"The godwit is a European bird. I've only every seen 3 birds in North America. One was here and one was in New Jersey,” Taylor said.
Those in the local birding community have a theory about how these rare birds got to the Coastal Bend.
"You can go down to the Caribbean and see them nesting by the hundreds. The hurricane picked up a bunch of them and came up into the U.S. and dumped them in the Eastern and Central US,” Taylor said.
"The cattle tyrant, no one really has a good answer for it because they've never been seen North of Panama. They like cattle fields and walking around eating bugs. The question is, how did it get here. Did it hitch a ride on a boat? Right over there we have the Port of Corpus Christi and downtown Corpus Christi is right next door,” Taylor said.
Another topic of discussion among local bird watchers, as the season ends, is whether these rare birds will return to their natural habitats or stay and call the Coastal Bend home.
