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Unusual West Indian bird visits Island

Rare caller: the West Indian Whistling Duck, a highly unusual sight in Bermuda, at Spittal Pond (Photo courtesy of Andrew Dobson)

A rarely seen waterfowl has called on Bermuda for only the second time in the Island’s history, prompting astonishment at the Bermuda Audubon Society.

The West Indian Whistling Duck, last spotted here in 1907, was sighted by Crista Smith at Tobacco Bay on Saturday.

The Caribbean bird, classed as a vulnerable species, is non-migratory, with a “severely fragmented range”, according to Audubon Society president Andrew Dobson.

Drought in the islands to our south may have driven the bird, which normally feeds at night and sleeps by day, to take refuge in Bermuda.

The duck was seen in a freshwater pond on Nonsuch Island on Sunday, then at Spittal Pond on Monday.