GBP member mikeaff shared a series of Limpkin pictures with us and told a story about it. Here’s what he wrote:
“Apparently, there are more than a few Limpkins in Illinois this year. I saw the arrival of one at the Chicago Botanic Garden at a distance a couple months ago (no real photo ops). I thought I’d missed the Lake Forest individual but no, it was still there.
After doing some reading about this amazing bird, it’s concerning that they are here. They’re considered non-migratory and appear to be following their food source(s) North – one of which is an invasive snail. This individual Limkpin seems unaffected by human contact and just goes about its business. It was about 10-15 feet away from me.
The unknown is whether they will leave once/if some real winter weather sets in and the shallow ponds and marshes freeze. The Lake Forest bird was still snagging snails when I saw it.” NOTE from Mike: There were at least four Limpkin reported in Illinois this fall. As of January 10, 2024 one was still being seen in Lake County.
This first pic from mikeaff shows the Limpkin carrying a snail (do we have a snail theme going the past two days)?
Great series mikeaff! I alway appreciate the story behind the pics as well.
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