Some Wisconsinites have come across an unlikely and puzzling sight this week: a giant bird native to Africa, with an 8-to-10-foot wingspan.
Online, birders and wildlife enthusiasts have identified the bird as a marabou stork, which naturally lives in sub-Saharan Africa and grows to nearly 5 feet tall, according to SeaWorld’s website. People have reported seeing the bird in Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Appleton and Green Bay areas between May 4 and May 8, according to Facebook posts and comments.
One question is consistent in the online conversation: where did the bird come from?
Jessica Saunders, of Fond du Lac, is a former wildlife rescuer, and has been tracking the marabou stork’s whereabouts and posting that information in widely shared Facebook posts.
She said she first became aware of the stork May 5, after it had been reported in the Fond du Lac area May 6. She tried to catch the bird in Sheboygan May 7, but did not have luck. It was reported in Appleton and Green Bay area the evening of May 7, then had returned to Sheboygan the morning of May 8, Saunders said in an interview.
“It seems like it does have a pattern,” she said. “It seems to have went to the same area in Green Bay to sleep last night that it did before, and it did show up at two of the same addresses in Sheboygan again this morning.”
Saunders said that while the stork does not currently seem to be having a difficult time surviving by itself, she worries about its ability to survive in the Midwest when the weather gets cold in the fall. Additionally, she said could potentially pose a hazard to small pets, or wreck a car. She said she believes it’s best if the bird can be rescued and returned to captivity as soon as possible.
The bird has a tag on its leg, indicating it has been previously identified and handled by humans, and likely escaped from captivity.
Both the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Wildlife Services said their agencies are not involved in efforts to locate and capture the bird. The DNR said it does not deal with escaped pets or zoo animals, and USDA Wildlife Services said it rarely gets tasked with locating birds escaped from captivity.
Saunders said the stork’s tagged leg identifies it as the same bird that was spotted in Byron, Illinois – approximately 95 miles west of Chicago – April 30, according to online bird observation platform eBird.
Ken Reinert, of Sycamore, Illinois, created the eBird post documenting the April 30 Marabou stork sighting, which featured photographs he took.
Reinert, an avid bird enthusiast, volunteers with DeKalb County, Illinois’ Oaken Acres Wildlife Center, rescuing raptors. He said he was contacted that day for a sighting of a “giant bird” in a field in Byron, Illinois – so he traveled out there to try to capture the bird for rehabilitation.
“When I got out there, I’m like, ‘what the heck is this?'” he said. “Obviously, it was not a bird that’s supposed to be here.”
Reinert estimated the bird was close to 4 feet tall, with an 8-foot wingspan. When he realized it was able to fly and did not seem injured, he gave up his attempt to catch it, since it did not seem to be at risk of being attacked by a predator. Additionally, Reinert said he imagines a dart gun is likely be needed to put the animal to sleep for transportation. He said the bird’s lethal-looking bill, which allows it to scavenge carrion in sub-Saharan Africa, looked like it could “poke an eye out.”
Given the stork’s strong flying abilities, Reinert said he wonders how far away it may have escaped from.
“How long has it been wild? I don’t know. Six months? Six years?” he asked.
Reiner said he’s surprised that the bird’s origin has not yet been identfied, with all the attention it has received online.
“I’m super interested in finding out – if anybody finds out – where this bird originated and how long it’s been free, because it’s supposed to be in Uganda, not Fond du Lac,” he said.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sightings of giant African stork puzzle Wisconsin birders
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
