Anhinga’s New York appearance may be a sign of the times

New York birders are noticing an unusual migrant showing up. Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga) historically didn’t range north of the Carolinas, but one of the water birds has appeared in Prospect Park, only the second sighting in the city since 1992.

“What we are seeing here is likely an expanding population from the previous typical range of the species in the southeastern United States,” Andrew Farnsworth, a researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology told the New York Times. The anhinga “is a strong flier and quite a migrant,” he said, “so it’s not necessarily a surprise this is happening.”

Read more from the New York Times.