Wildlife experts thrilled after capturing footage of 'rare visitor' to US: 'A feast for the eyes'

Texas birders expressed excitement after a rare avian visitor made an appearance in the southern tip of the state.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that a northern jacana, a tropical waterbird that primarily inhabits Central America, was spotted at the Santa Ana & Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 

According to Chron, the northern jacana rarely makes its way into the U.S., though the species once had a small but stable breeding population at a lake south of Houston until the late 1970s. Its decline is tied to an attempt by landowners to manage the lake for wintering waterfowl by poisoning floating vegetation — which ultimately destroyed the jacana's nesting habitat — and a series of cold winter storms that followed. 

This is the first time in nearly a decade that the bird has been spotted in Texas.

"This fancy-looking, chicken-like water bird is a rare visitor from Mexico," the refuge wrote in a Facebook post.

Ardell Winters, a birder from San Antonio who traveled to the wildlife refuge after reading reports about the jacana sighting, described catching a glimpse of the bird along with other species such as great kiskadees, tropical kingbirds, least grebes, and Couch's kingbirds.

The experience was "a feast for the eyes and ears of a birder," she told Chron.

According to another article from the news site, Texas birders have experienced an unusual streak of rare bird sightings in 2025. Experts think this could be tied to easier detectability thanks to technology and the state's southern location closer to Latin America. 

However, shifts in climate and habitat may also play a role, they added. For instance, birds such as the yellow-headed caracara are showing up more often, likely due to agriculture-driven habitat changes in Central America and massive fires.

Anyone can help document bird species, assisting in conservation efforts and the reportage of "rare visitors" such as Texas' famed jacana. For instance, the Merlin Bird ID app helps people identify birds through sounds and photos.

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Meanwhile, trail cameras are another valuable tool that wildlife managers use to monitor animal populations and assess conservation success. In fact, trail cameras in the San Rafael Valley in southern Arizona have been helping researchers track a male jaguar, and in China, this technology has helped scientists capture rare footage of a mother snow leopard and her offspring. 

This kind of smart wildlife management benefits humans, as balanced ecosystems help supply us with clean air and water, along with a stable food supply.

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