Code 10 - Roseate Insanity

It was going to be an off day. I was going to spend most of my time working on an upcoming presentation for the MRVAC monthly meeting, kicking off their fall speaker series by talking about finding more rare birds and goal setting. My wife and I rolled into Starbucks around 10AM and I snagged on of the few remaining tables, while she got in line to order for us.

Seconds later my phone started ringing. I get very few phone calls these days simply because messaging is the way things are typically done, but my friend Pete Nichols and I have a system. If it's a serious find, it's a phone call and the one getting the calls picks it up ASAP.

Pete: Dude!
Me: What's Up?
Pete: Are you ready for a code 10 in our county?
Me: Uh, yes?
Pete: Dude, Kevin Smith just found a Roseate Spoonbill at the sandbar!
Me: ....what?
Pete: Yes.

Me up at counter in line with my wife.

Me: We need to go, now!
Her: What?
Me: Roseate Spoonbill at the sandbar.
Her: I'll get it to go then.

I quickly told Pete we are on our way. He was getting a pickup from Larry Sirvio and would be in bound also. Not only was this a big deal for Washington County, but it would be a first state record for Minnesota. We raced down to Hastings crossing the river and I could see gulls and one big light/white bird on the sandbar. It would turn out though that shortly after getting the word out the bird had lifted along with the gulls. The gulls returned, but the Spoonbill did not as it flew north over the lock and dam.

Talking with Kevin Smith now and a few others that started to trickle into the boat launch parking a plan started forming. Greg Jahner was already working from the lock and dam along with Kevin's wife Cindy. Pete and Larry showed up and did the same along with looking at Lake Rebecca and the dike area. Soon Tom Bell showed up as well looking to add this State Record. Jenn Veith arrived with her husband on her birthday no less and they plotted a possible boat trip from their home to the backwater areas around Spring Lake to search.

Alex Sundvall arrived and we agreed that Schaar's Bluff would be a good place to look as well now with plenty of backwater areas to observe from high up on the river bluffs. The group dispersed quickly with Greg noting he was going to be checking Hazen P. Mooers Park as well as the gravel pit on Grey Cloud Island. The hunt was on.

I talked my wife into a run to Schaar's Bluff and she was game as we pulled in and starting looking at the river in various locations. Kevin had noted the bird likely would be looking for more Great Egrets as it had been associating loosely with the one I had seen while crossing the bridge. The river from Schaar's Bluff had plenty of Egret's and hundreds of Ring-billed and Franklin's Gulls, but nothing remotely pink could be found. Liz Harper showed up as well at this point while 7 or 8 of us scanned various sections of river without luck.

Many of us dispersed at this point while others like Liz Harper stayed in the area searching various locations. My wife and I ended up getting lunch and returned home. I started working on my MRVAC presentation again and figured the day would end with Kevin Smith notching a first state record in 2 counties along with his wife and nobody else would have the fortune of seeing such a great bird. At 2:45PM I got a message from Pete the "likely bird" was refound at Old Cedar Avenue in Hennepin County now, 20 miles away! Had someone searched this whole time and thought to check another section of river 20 miles away from the first sighting?

Pete was keen on another run at this bird and offered a ride if I made it down to his place. I thought for a few seconds and realized state records don't show up every year so this might be my only chance in MN ever. I got in the car with my gear and got to his place. We jumped in his car and quickly made our way towards Old Cedar.

The effort wasn't drama free as we arrived to find Old Cedar Ave in the worst shape I've seen it to date. The city/county has continued at a glacial pace in rebuilding this area for 2 years now. I used to go to this place regularly and finally stopped when they started the pedestrian bridge project. Now the road itself to the new parking area was utterly destroyed. This hill down is daunting and certainly wasn't something Pete should be hiking in the oppressive heat and humidity of the day. So we drove down the single choppy dirt lane the last stretch of navigable road and turned around. Pete jumped out with the gear and I drove it back up the hill and rushed back down on foot. It was then at least a half mile further down the road and out to the boardwalk. Signs were good though as we ran into Greg Jahner fresh from seeing the bird and rushing back to his daughters softball game. Birders will find a way to wedge a chase into any personal/family event possible when it is this singular in nature.

Once on the platform the sleepy Roseate Spoonbill was easy to spot just a couple hundred feet away. Kevin's comment from earlier resonated as I eventually counted 25 Great Egret in the area and it became pretty apparent this bird was looking for rest and food and wanted to associate with a bird species as similar to itself as possible.

The next hour became a who's who in birding as people streamed in from all corners of the metro and even state to get a sight of this wonderful rarity. Off the top of my head I talked with or recognized, Dana Sterner and her mother, Michael Sack, Bob Jansen, Julie Winter-Zempel, Tony Lau, Amit Kulkarni, Richard Gotz, Travis Bono, John Jonas,  Bill Litkey, Erik Collins, Becca Engdahl, Alex Burchard, Bob Dunlap, William Marengo, Alex Sundvall, Joe Lindell, Liz Harper, Brad Abendroth, Larry Sirvio, Joey Sundvall, a large contingent of the Hosch family (Ezra, Isaac, Jackie, and I think Caleb).

On the way out Kevin Smith and Alex Franzen were coming in giving Kevin a wild 3 county ticks in one day for the first state record bird. Unreal and super awesome. While hiking up the hill I ran into Karl Isley and even Kim Eckert whom I assume had driven from Duluth. Many more beyond those I knew were coming into the platform area and streaming down the rubble of a road to add this bird to their list. Rare bird chases are something of a wonder of human nature. I had noted on a Facebook post that birders "flashmob" better than almost any other group in existence. With todays light speed reporting avenues the word gets out so insanely fast that even leaving immediately upon finding out you are likely to be the 30th or so person to arrive when it's near the heart of the cities such as it was yesterday.

I later saw reports of the bird out to 8PM with more names I recognized like Josh Wallestad having been in the cities by some stroke of amazing luck with his wife for a conference starting on Monday. Jenn Veith was able to get the bird as a birthday bird and this time her son Vincent was with to see it as well.

From the highest high of a morning call from Pete to the lowest low of heading back home after a fruitless search, to the redemptive chase at Old Cedar, the day was an awesome rollercoaster to get a sighting and picture of a first state record. In the end it will stick with many of us how many friends we quickly got to see and talk with over this bird. Conversations of congratulations in person for other birds people had found recently like Dana Sterner finding a first county record Blue Grosbeak in Ramsey County. These moments in time can be critical to reinforcing friendships and making new birding contacts with friends of friends. The birding melting pot is as diverse as our quarry and always exciting to see again. Soak it in everyone, life is good.