By Suzanne Wentley
staff writer
October 12, 2005

Rebecca and Wilson Rice spend a lot on birdseed.

Behind their western Martin County home, they've set up feeders everywhere — some shaded by palmetto fronds, some visible from their patio door.

And as they found out recently, one little bird may have flown a very, very long way for a bite from their tray of black sunflower seeds.

According to nature experts with the Audubon Society of Martin County, the Rices are hosts to a colorful and rare European goldfinch — a bird quite common in England, Belgium and Scandinavia but never seen locally.

"It's an unmistakable species," said Greg Braun, Audubon's executive director. "It is a very notable occurrence. The question is, 'How did the bird get here, and how long will it stay?' "

But Rebecca Rice's initial question was even more basic. When she first saw the bird with splashes of red, bright yellow and brown in her back yard, she couldn't identify it. When a book of Florida birds failed, she ended up fruitlessly thumbing page by page through her trusted Sibley's Guide to Birds.

"I was totally stumped. I couldn't really identify that bird, which amazed me because it had such distinctive markings," said Rice, who is retired and living in the Foxwood subdivision. "It's like I stepped into the 'Twilight Zone.'"

She became certain of the species only after contacting Braun, who had seen the birds during his trips to England to visit his wife's relatives.

Braun had a few guesses on how the migratory bird ended up in Martin County. Perhaps it was a pet that escaped. Or, oddly and yet more likely due to the species, it got caught up in one of the summer's many tropical winds.

"There's the possibility with all this weird weather we're having, it's indeed something that was blown across the ocean," he said.

Rice said the European goldfinch could find company on her property. Volunteers with the annual Audubon Christmas bird count always visit her yard to count the warblers and painted buntings that stop by for a meal, she said.

And it may get even more crowded if the bird, known scientifically as Carduelis carduelis, stays around. Braun said a subscription service called North American Rare Bird Alert will issue a notice to avid bird-lovers interested in catching a glimpse of the rare species.

Rice said she, for one, already has her binoculars and her telescopic camera lens ready.

"I'm still watching for him," she said. "This is the first time that I've ever seen something that really isn't supposed to be here."

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