Rare Bird Alert: Hooded Crane Spotted Near Carey

Avid birders: If you're looking for a weekend outing in Idaho, you may want to head to Carey to add a new bird to your life list.

Last week, a group of Blaine County birders including regular Silver Creek volunteers Poo Wright-Pulliam and Jean Seymour spotted a hooded crane--native to Siberia and Japan--at the Carey Lake Wildlife Management Area.

There are only a handful of records of the species being sighted in North America.

Sandhill cranes nest in southcentral Idaho and are quite easy to see at this time of year. The hooded crane appears to be living with the sandhills.

I am sure many birders will be around Carey this weekend. It's a beautiful time of year in southcentral Idaho. Even if you don't see the crane, there is excellent birding at Silver Creek and on the Camas Prairie.

Read the full story in the Idaho Mountain Express.

Photo by Kathleen Cameron.