Out-of-towners on the lawn

A pair of Cattle Egrets, or "fathers of all ticks" as they are known in their native home, were cause for much stir in Petersburg, landing hundreds of miles north of their typical habitat and luring one birding enthusiast, James Levison, to fly from Fairbanks to catch a glimpse for his personal records. The birds, originating in Africa, came to America in 1953, spreading to California in 1964 and were first recorded in Ketchikan in 1981, and have been sighted very rarely in other parts of Alaska over the years. They primarily feed on insects, favoring forage areas around ruminants, but have be...