GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — There’s an interesting visitor in Kent County these days and you never know where it might drop in.

A rare ferruginous hawk is being tracked in West Michigan and local birders are keeping their eyes on the sky.

“We found out about a week ago that this extremely rare western bird was found in Ontario, it was hit by a car, and the researchers who rehabbed it for about two weeks put a transmitter on it that them where it’s located,” Caleb Putnam, a birding advocate, said.

When word broke that the bird had moved from Ontario into Michigan, Putnam said the birding community went looking for it.

“It culminated with us finding out that it was in Newaygo County … but we didn’t know where. So, we put together a chase and we gave chase and we succeeded. We got it, we found it,” he said.

Putnam and fellow birding advocate Will Keller are passionate about this recent flying tourist and are hoping to inspire others to join in and prevent extinction.

“My whole career and all of my efforts have been geared towards (preventing extinction) because if we can do that, that means your grandkids, my grandkids and all of them will be able to experience a healthy ecosystem,” Putnam said.

“Most people get started watching birds at their bird feeder or noticing birds at their parks … The idea that people are just looking at birds means that they are able and capable of getting into birding,” Keller said.

If you would like to learn more about birding in West Michigan, visit Real Birding’s Facebook page.