Super Rare Visitor Wows Valley Birders

It was only fitting that Stanislaus Audubon Society Board member Jodi Smith found one the rarest birds ever to visit the San Joaquin Valley. Smith was enjoying the wetland and riparian habitat at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge last Saturday when she peered through her binoculars and saw a stunning pink bird in a shallow pond, a little over a hundred yards from the nature trail she stood on.

Even while enjoying one of north America’s most spectacular avian wonders, Smith knew enough to get word out immediately via email list services. Normal range for Roseate Spoonbills is along the Florida and Texas coasts. Any northern California sighting galvanizes serious birders into immediate action, as they grab their binoculars, jump into their vehicles, and head toward the latest regional wanderer. One of the first people to get the word and rush to the refuge was Jim Gain.

A retired educator, Gain is one of the Valley’s finest nature photographers. He’s also an avid birder, both locally in Stanislaus County, across the nation, and outside our national borders. Though he’d seen and photographed Roseate Spoonbills in Texas and Puerto Rico, Gain had a special interest in both seeing and photographing Smith’s incredible find. He wanted to see the bird so he could add it to his Stanislaus County bird list. He wanted to photograph it as documentary proof of its presence.

Reports of out-of-range birds often draw skeptical reactions from seasoned birders, especially when such sightings involve birds easily confused with more common local species. While the Roseate Spoonbill isn’t likely to be confused with any other bird — its pink plumage and large spatulate bill are unique — there are only a tiny few documented records anywhere in California except the Salton Sea. One of those records occurred on private property in Kern County earlier this year. Since California sightings of Roseate Spoonbills are so rare, many veteran birders suspect the Stanislaus County individual could be the same wandering bird. The only other recorded sighting in the San Joaquin Valley was also in Kern County, in 1956.

Stanislaus Audubon Society, along with then-Congressman Tony Coelho, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Robert Gallo, were major forces in the establishment of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge in 1987. Since then, the refuge has proven to be a critical wintering ground for the once-endangered Aleutian Cackling Goose, which has  recovered from a low of under 800 individuals to a population of over 200,000.

It’s fitting that one of Jodi Smith’s duties as a Stanislaus Audubon Board Member is to coordinate publication of the chapter newsletter, The Valley Habitat. Each issue of the bi-monthly publication features a review of unusual bird sightings. The next issue will certainly include Jodi’s spectacular find, as it is not only the first ever documented sighting for Stanislaus County, it is also one of a tiny few records for northern California.

As for Jim Gain, his photos of the distant Roseate Spoonbill aren’t quite as close up as those he’s taken in Texas and Puerto Rico, but he will very likely appreciate them much more. The Roseate Spoonbill was number 299 on his list of birds recorded in Stanislaus County. Having already seen most every common and unusual bird on the official Stanislaus County list, Jim is  just one rare bird away from 300 species. This latest visitor has him believing most anything may show up. He can hardly wait.