Wayward duck in Niagara draws mad rush of birders looking to photograph the 'mega-rarity'

There's a celebrity in Grimsby, Ont. — and there don't seem to be concerns about the parade of people taking photographs or efforts to "duck" them.

The popular visitor is a cinnamon teal — a small duck from western North America that is rarely seen in Ontario. In fact, local birders say this may be the first sighting of one in Niagara.

The teal is "a mega-rarity," Marcie Jacklin, a birder for 35 years, told CBC Hamilton.

The Fort Erie, Ont., resident drove to Grimsby to see it on Monday. It was her first cinnamon teal, and the 410th species she's seen in the province. 

The Hamilton Naturalist Club announced that on Sept. 15, bird watcher Kathy Johnson from Smithville spotted the cinnamon teal in the Grimsby Wetlands. That kicked off a mad rush of birders keen to see the duck. At time of publication, over 70 people had logged sightings of the teal on Ebird.

Jacklin said she learned about it on a birding Discord server Sunday night.

"Birders have an amazing social media presence," she said, and word travels fast.

"My heart rate goes up and I start the chase," Jacklin said, noting she was lying awake Sunday night wondering if the cinnamon teal would still be there come morning.

Before dawn, Jacklin, who is the top birder in Niagara according to the popular Ebird app and website, drove to Grimsby. Much to her delight, the cinnamon teal was still in the wetlands, hidden among the bulrushes. 

Jacklin was joined by 20 or 30 other birders throughout the day, she said, including her friends Kayo Roy and Bob Curry, who've written books on birds in Niagara and Hamilton, respectively. Jacklin contributed chapters to Roy's book, Niagara Birds. 

By now, Jacklin said, "I'm guessing it's well over 200 people" who've come to see the cinnamon teal. 

"It really has generated a lot of interest across the province."

She said she expects people who work during the week to come to the wetland this weekend, and added she has friends from New York state who plan to make the trip.

"This is a rare enough bird that they would come to see it."

Bob Curry, who wrote Birds of Hamilton and Surrounding Areas and lives in Burlington, Ont., told CBC Hamilton that he's seen a few cinnamon teals in the province, but never in Niagara, and that this is the first documented sight in the region.

It's fairly common for "vagrant birds" like this one to show up in unexpected locations, he said, adding the last time he saw this much excitement about a bird was last year when an ancient murrelet — a west coast seabird —  showed up in Hamilton. 

"Most birders live for these events," Curry said. 

The cinnamon teal in Grimsby appears to be a young male, Jacklin said, and was initially harder to identify because it doesn't have the recognizable colouring adults of his species do. 

It's possible the bird got lost migrating south, she said, adding that hopefully he will get reunited with his kind.

"You know guys, they don't ask for directions."

Deena Errampalli, a bird watcher from Grimsby, said she birds in the wetlands a couple of times a month. The wetlands, which are located along the waterfront trail in Grimsby, are human-made and maintained by the Hamilton Naturalists Club, which was honoured for its years of work in 2023. 

Errampalli was at the wetlands on Sunday, excitedly telling other birders about a rare nest of common gallinules, when they informed her that Johnson had posted about the cinnamon teal. They looked around and found it, she said, adding it was exciting to be among the first to see it.

Errampalli said she has been birding since 2016, so she's relatively new, but she's racked up quite the list. The cinnamon teal was the first of that kind she'd seen and her 682nd species from 15 countries. 

Her husband said she's "obsessed," she laughed, and said she and all the other birders coming to Grimsby are "like the paparazzi for this little cinnamon teal that does not care."

For Errampalli, meeting people who've come from far and wide has been the best part of the teal's visit.

"I really loved the camaraderie of the birders that were around ... that in itself is very exciting for me."