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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A bird that was far from home made a stop in Fort Simpson on Oct. 26 to the surprise of residents who saw it.

Staff with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Fort Simpson were surprised to see a cattle egret near their compound on Oct. 26. The bird flew into some nearby spruce trees to escape ravens that were attacking it. - photo courtesy of Danny Allaire

The bird first came to the attention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources when staff there received a call about a white bird that was spotted on Mackenzie Drive near the riverbank, said Danny Allaire, a wildlife technician with the department.

Carl Lafferty, the department's regional superintendent, responded to the call and located the white bird, which was being attacked by ravens.

Lafferty initially thought the bird was a pelican, said Allaire. A pelican had been spotted in Nahanni Butte at the end of August.

Lafferty tried to catch the bird using a net to rescue it from the ravens only to have it take flight and land in some nearby tall spruce trees.

Allaire came out to take some photos of the unusual bird but it wasn't until Nic Larter, the department's regional biologist, caught a glimpse of it that the bird was tentatively identified. Its white plumage, yellow bill and hunched posture were all trademarks of the cattle egret.

Cattle egrets, a type of heron, are normally found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. In North America their non-breeding range extends just over the U.S. border into Canada.

"I was quite surprised to see one up here," said Allaire. "It was quite a long ways from home."

Doug Tate was also surprised when he saw the cattle egret.

Tate, a conservation biologist with Parks Canada, has a personal interest in ornithology.

After receiving a call, Tate immediately went to see the bird.

"You wouldn't ever expect to see them this far North," he said.

Allaire's photos helped confirm the bird's identity as a cattle egret.

Originally from parts of southern Spain, Portugal and tropical and sub-tropical Africa and Asia, the species started to expand across North America in the 1950s.

As its name suggests, cattle egrets like to live near large mammals such as cattle and eat the insects that they disturb. Similar to the pelican sighted in Nahanni Butte, the cattle egret might have been "post-breeding wandering," said Tate.

It's a behaviour that's been recorded in some species when both older and younger birds wander away from their normal area after breeding.

Tate is the Northwest Territories' representative for the journal North American Birds.

He sends in information on items of note including higher than normal numbers of species, unusual timing for migrations and also sightings of rare species.

Tate said he'll definitely be including the cattle egret sighting in his next summary.

"That's a crazy record," he said.

The cattle egret stayed in the trees for most of the afternoon before being last spotted flying towards the north end of the island.

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