Long legs and toes are ‘something else’ on showstopper bird species seen for first time in U.P.

PARADISE, MI – Fall migration is coming in floods – and with a few surprises – across Lake Superior as songbirds make their way to the flyways along Michigan’s shorelines.

The showstopper of the week was a juvenile purple gallinule that was spotted on Friday, Oct. 3, at the Whitefish Point harbor. It was the first-ever of this species to be seen in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, according to Michigan Audubon.

Frank Fabbro, a fall waterbird counter at the Michigan Audubon’s Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in Paradise, was the first to observe the bird, which is typically found in the southeastern United States.

This juvenile was then seen by several other birders before disappearing into the night.

Clay Bliznick, an ornithologist at the observatory, described the bird’s long legs and