Recently, a very rare sighting of a solitary Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) occurred at the Hebron Fish Hatchery Wetlands Mitigation Bank site in Licking County, Ohio. Located on land owned and managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife, the mitigation bank was established in 1993 by the Stream + Wetlands Foundation in partnership with ODNR. The Hebron Fish Hatchery Mitigation Bank was the first mitigation bank established in Ohio and was one of the first in the country.
The Spoonbill was first discovered on the Hebron site on August 9 and then again on August 11, 12, 13 and 14. For a list of all sightings, visit the Ebird.org/Ohio Rare Bird Alert website. (Photo credit: Alex Eberts, member of Birding Ohio).
Earlier this year, a Spoonbill was seen in June in Lorain County and again in July in Holmes County. It may be the same bird working its way southward. Prior to the 2018 Ohio sightings, there were two prior sightings in 1986 and again in 2002.