Ancient murrelet elicits another kind of gratitude for feathered beings at Thanksgiving

ASHLAND - A crowd was growing Monday afternoon on the Lake Superior shore a few miles east of Ashland.

From two to four to now eight, avid bird watchers hurriedly gathered and pointed their spotting scopes north toward Chequamegon Bay.

Nick Anich, a conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, stood in the middle of the group and smiled.

"It's one of those unique days," Anich said. "Can't predict them, but they sure are memorable."

In this case, memorable translates to "lifer." It also sheds light on a different type of gratitude for feathered beings at Thanksgiving.

Anich, a bird expert, lives in Ashland and periodically scans Lake Superior for "specks," or distant birds.

Monday, the conditions dawned with just a breath of a south wind and flat seas. It was perfect for a look out on the bay, Anich said.

At his second spot of the day, a public boat launch known as First Landing, Anich was panning with his spotting scope and noticed a bird offshore "flying really weird."

He stayed on it hoping it would land. Instead, it banked steeply and plunged head-first into the water.

When the bird popped up after a few seconds, Anich knew he had spotted, to borrow a line from The Wizard of Oz, "a horse of a different color."

It was a small bird with almost no neck, a stubby bill and a very short tail. Anich recognized it as an ancient murrelet.

The species is part of the auk family; its typical range is the Pacific Ocean, including off Alaska, British Columbia and Washington. Some are known to winter off California.

The odd flight pattern that drew Anich's attention was the ancient murrelet's trait of banking from side-to-side with fast wing beats.

But this was a sighting that demanded confirmation. Anich called his colleague Ryan Brady, a DNR conservation biologist who lives in Washburn, and Brady drove over later Monday morning. Fortunately the bird stayed within scope range about 1,000 yards offshore. Brady concurred with the identification.

It was the seventh record of the species in Wisconsin. The previous sightings occurred in 1882, 1940, 1964, 1967, 1975 and 2007. And most were found dead or injured. The 2007 record was found grounded in a yard in Outagamie County; it died within 24 hours.

Anich posted his ancient murrelet find on social media, including the Wisconsin Rare Bird Alert Facebook page.

It was the first "chaseable" sighting of the species in state history, a gem of an opportunity for contemporary birders and wildlife watchers.

Sarah Sabatke of Wausau is an avid birder who works as a drafter and has Mondays off. When she heard about the bird, she called Lynn Barber, a friend and fellow Wisconsin Society for Ornithology member who also lives in Wausau, to see if she wanted to join her in a drive to Ashland.

"I had an appointment, but I canceled it immediately," Barber said. "We had a new, impromptu meeting on our calendar."

The pair arrived in Ashland about 1 p.m.; the happy crowd of birders doubled about every 15 minutes.

Ken Milender drove up from Harshaw and Dave Wittrock from Lac du Flambeau.

About 2:30 Tom Schultz arrived from Green Lake, followed a few minutes later by Jeff Baughman of Cambellsport.

And husband-and-wife Bob and Kay Kavanagh arrived after a 3-hour drive from Niagara.

Anich offered views through his spotting scope to all as they arrived.

"I'm going to have a heart attack," said Kay Kavanagh of Niagara, her knees buckling at her first-ever sight of a live ancient murrelet.

"You should have seen me this morning," Anich said.

The bird was now an estimated 1,500 yards offshore. It periodically dove and resurfaced near a flock of common goldeneyes.

The lake surface was like gray putty dotted with the distant, black birds.

However the powerful spotting scopes allowed the birders fleeting glances at the ancient murrelet's white throat patch and unique, short profile.

"I don't think I have to tell you I never thought I'd see one in Wisconsin," Sabatke said.

Ryan Brady, DNR conservation biologist and bird expert who lives in Washburn, put things in perspective in a Monday post on the Wisconsin Rare Bird Alert Facebook page.

"Big congrats to Nick on this one," Brady wrote. "There are probably less than five, at best 10, birders in the state who would have found this thing. Well earned after many, many hours spent scanning distant specks in search of goodies like this."

Brady said the ancient murrelet sighting was reminiscent of his 2021 find of the first-ever Arctic loon in Wisconsin - both were very distant and hard to see.

The flat lake conditions Monday made it possible. Any wind and waves would have made it extremely difficult to identify a rare bird so far away.

"We can see all the way to Washburn today," Anich said.

The ancient murrelet stayed within view through the afternoon.

For all but two of the birders, the sighting was a "lifer." And it was a Wisconsin first for everyone.

Many of the group had last seen Anich earlier this fall when he spotted a tropical kingbird in Ashland. Monday was a mini-reunion.

"It's a joy to see birds like this," Sabatke said. "And it's completely due to Nick's skill and experience and willingness to share the information."

The afternoon was spiced with a flyover by a tree swallow, a very late record for the species in northern Wisconsin, as well as sightings of red-breasted mergansers and redheads on the bay.

But it wasn't the last ancient murrelet excitement in Wisconsin this week. On Tuesday an ancient murrelet was spotted in the waters of Green Bay in Sturgeon Bay. More birders were able to travel to see it. And the bird persisted at the spot through Wednesday morning.

Anich said although it couldn't be proven, it was possible the bird spotted Monday in Ashland had relocated to Sturgeon Bay.

Dozens more birders gathered and added a bird to their life lists.

Just days before a national holiday with a traditional poultry feast, state birders were grateful for a rare bird on the wing and the state conservationists who help protect them.

More:Hunters register 16% fewer deer over opening weekend of 2023 Wisconsin gun deer season