Limpkins

Tracee Strohman and her friend Beverley were out birding in Jefferson county and had this to report...

Tracee writes...

At Letchworth yesterday I think I (and Beverly) heard at least 2 Limpkins at 4:30 PM in the unseen swampy area to the east of the main mound. Unless another heron or ibis or peacock has a similar "hysterical woman" call then we may have a good limkpin location. There was no guttural quality to the calls and they varied much more than the Cornell and All About Birds sounds online.

Andy writes...

Limpkins are not a common bird in our area anymore but they can be found in several areas. Finding them can sometimes be tricky but they have a very distinctive call that sounds like a murder victims scream! Jefferson County is good for them, especially along the Wacissa River so it is very likely that Tracee heard Limpkins near Letchworth Mounds. In Tallahassee they can be found at Lake Munson Preserve and have recently been sighted along the banks of Lake Talquin. Limpkins are known to wander and a customer from Georgia told us recently how one had shown up not far from her home at a nearby state park river. Birders from all over Georgia went to see it as they don't normally stray into the peach state.

Wakulla Springs was once home to many Limpkins but they disappeared along with thier food source, the apple snail, several years ago. Biologists at the park are reintroducing native apple snails. The unintended introduction of hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, to the area is one of the reasons why apple snails disappeared and park staff are working very hard to get rid of it. Hopefully their efforts will allow the apple snail to flourish and therefore entice Limpkins back to the springs.

Limpkin at Lake Munson Preserve, Tallahassee

Limpkin near Orlando