Shoebill Crane -- in Connecticut?!

For me this reminds me of the time a user posted a picture of a zorilla from google images as if no one on this website knew what a zorilla is in a sad attempt to prove a point. At least that discussion was discussing over a provided evidence.
 
Where in Connecticut because Beardsley does have boat billed heron and is doing work on the tropical house. Entertaining the “escaped zoo animal theory”. Which isn’t unheard of (birds at Roger Williams escaped all the time). Just food for thought. Definitely not a shoebill though.
 
JZinCT said:
I was sitting outdoors on my back patio with two others, just relaxing, when I looked up at the big oak tree nearest to where I sat and saw something my eyes couldn't process. It was a large animal/bird sitting on a big branch not 30 feet from where we were sitting. I asked the others, "what the heck is that?" There was a huge bird with a beak that looked like a shoebox with a hook on the end of it, sitting there on the branch. I looked down to pick up my phone to take a picture of it. Just as I leaned down, It took off into the air and those with me said it was huge with long legs.

After googling bird species, I found a photo of a Shoebill Crane that looked exactly like what we saw. I called the state Audubon Society to notify them of the sighting. The man who answered the phone seemed unbelieving. He said it must have escaped from a zoo. There's only one zoo in the state, so I called them and left a message. I don't think this came from the zoo there. If this bird is not an escapee from a zoo, how in the heck did it get to the US?

Here are photos that I grabbed online of the Shoebill Crane. It's an African species of crane. I have no idea if there are any zoos within 100 miles of me, including the Bronx Zoo in New York, that has a Shoebill Crane.
images
images
Click to expand...
Sorry I am late for this thread. But OP, can you confirm it was a Shoebill that you saw?
 
I'm confused about the term 'shoebill crane'. While the shoebill is now classified in a different order from storks, it is not a crane
 
JZinCT said:
I was sitting outdoors on my back patio with two others, just relaxing, when I looked up at the big oak tree nearest to where I sat and saw something my eyes couldn't process. It was a large animal/bird sitting on a big branch not 30 feet from where we were sitting. I asked the others, "what the heck is that?" There was a huge bird with a beak that looked like a shoebox with a hook on the end of it, sitting there on the branch. I looked down to pick up my phone to take a picture of it. Just as I leaned down, It took off into the air and those with me said it was huge with long legs.

After googling bird species, I found a photo of a Shoebill Crane that looked exactly like what we saw. I called the state Audubon Society to notify them of the sighting. The man who answered the phone seemed unbelieving. He said it must have escaped from a zoo. There's only one zoo in the state, so I called them and left a message. I don't think this came from the zoo there. If this bird is not an escapee from a zoo, how in the heck did it get to the US?

Here are photos that I grabbed online of the Shoebill Crane. It's an African species of crane. I have no idea if there are any zoos within 100 miles of me, including the Bronx Zoo in New York, that has a Shoebill Crane.
images
images
Click to expand...

I know this post is a year old and I hope you see this, I'm from CT as well and last year around the same time you made this post my daughter and I saw that bird too! When we saw it we were in shock because the bird look so prehistoric like something from the dinosaur ages, it was in a field where I live the was previously a corn field. I took out my phone to record but then it was gone. So it sucks that I have no proof and no pictures but it'll forever be engraved in my memory as well as my daughter's we bring it up from time to time. So we did do our research as well and the only bird that look like what we saw was the shoebill crane. Although all over the internet it says it's in Africa and these people are putting you down saying it was no way. I understand that it seems impossible and yes to me I question how the heck would a bird like that even been out here, but it was. I decided to look up the bird again and put Connecticut in the search and this post came up. I made an account just so that I can comment and reassure you that you saw what you saw because me and my daughter saw the same thing and those other birds they keep telling you that you must've saw looks nothing close to shoebill crane. I know this was long but I'm glad to have come across this post and to know someone had the same experience as me, I Love the internet!
 
Bri said:
I know this post is a year old and I hope you see this, I'm from CT as well and last year around the same time you made this post my daughter and I saw that bird too! When we saw it we were in shock because the bird look so prehistoric like something from the dinosaur ages, it was in a field where I live the was previously a corn field. I took out my phone to record but then it was gone. So it sucks that I have no proof and no pictures but it'll forever be engraved in my memory as well as my daughter's we bring it up from time to time. So we did do our research as well and the only bird that look like what we saw was the shoebill crane. Although all over the internet it says it's in Africa and these people are putting you down saying it was no way. I understand that it seems impossible and yes to me I question how the heck would a bird like that even been out here, but it was. I decided to look up the bird again and put Connecticut in the search and this post came up. I made an account just so that I can comment and reassure you that you saw what you saw because me and my daughter saw the same thing and those other birds they keep telling you that you must've saw looks nothing close to shoebill crane. I know this was long but I'm glad to have come across this post and to know someone had the same experience as me, I Love the internet!
Click to expand...

As many others had already pointed out, there is no way a Shoebill Stork (not a crane) could fly from Africa to America. If by any chance it was an escaped bird from captivity, you can be sure of two things: the owner would have done everything on their hands to get it back, including ask publicy for information about the bird, and there would be a lot of sightings, with pictures proving it. And of course, such species would have created a massive pilgrimage of birders from all the country to see it. But the only people that had seen an almost 1,5 metres high bird are people with no knowledge about birds to even name it properly... I´m sorry if I sound harsh, but what you are claiming is simply impossible.
 
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