'Bird Paparazzi' flock to Elgin County, Ont.
Bird watchers are amassing in a rural area near Aylmer, Ont., hoping to catch sight of a bird that is way off track.
The Swallow-tailed kite is native to South America, though it is frequently seen in the southern U.S.
Birders believe recent hurricanes and severe storms confused one bird leading it to southwestern Ontario.
Spotted a week ago, the arrival of the Swallow-tailed kitehas attracted human visitors from near and far. Each is jockeying for a position, waiting for the bird to repeat a pattern taking it to the spot they have gathered.
Karen Ma arrived from Toronto. “We got up like 5 a.m. to prepare all the things to come here,” she says.
Some of the 'bird paparazzi' gather to capture a Swallowed Tail Kite near Aylmer, Ont., Sept 15, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV London) Gary Bishop, of London, was also up early and says, “I came out this morning a quarter to seven. Might be a bit too early, but I was told there were quite a few cars on the road, so I wanted to get a good spot. Hopefully, it comes."
After a good amount of waiting, just over the horizon, a wingspan was noted. The birders suddenly said in excited unison, “There he is!”
Among those taking pictures is Liz Norton. A bird photographer for years, she has long waited for this moment.
“This is definitely one of the best. It’s a lifer for me. I’ve never seen this before,” she explains.
And with all the excitement Bill MacDonald says it is fair for the bird to claim star status, while the people below are the paparazzi.
“He’s a celebrity. We don’t see them too often up here.”
And, as Gary Bishop, who waited for hours, finally got his chance to snap a picture of the Swallow-tailed kite, he was thrilled.
“I was almost ready to leave”, he told CTV News, “but I stuck it out and it was worth the wait.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.