Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge reported an unusual sighting last week— five wood storks, an endangered species usually found in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. In the United States, wood storks are most often found in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

"They're not supposed to be in Anson County— or even in North Carolina, for that matter," said J.D. Bricken, refuge manager.

Administrative support specialist Janet Watson and assistant manager Greg Walmsley were the first to see these birds in Sullivan Impoundment, a swampy area behind the refuge office, which is located off of Route 52 near Ansonville.

"Wood storks are large, long-legged wading birds, about 50 inches tall, with a wingspan of 60-65 inches," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Web site. "The plumage is white except for black primaries and secondaries and a short black tail. The head and neck are largely unfeathered and dark gray in color. The bill is black, thick at the base, and slightly decurved. Immature birds are dingy gray and have a yellowish bill." 
Wood storks are on the Federal Endangered Species List. "They have never been documented in this area before and are normally found much further south," Bricken said. "Sometimes immature wading birds may stray from their historical range in late summer after they fledge. This occurrence is known as post-natal wandering. Although the wood stork is considered a wading bird, they are also distant cousins of vultures."

A few nesting sites have been reported in coastal southeastern North Carolina, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but this is the first sighting this far west.