Birders by the hundreds flocked to a dock in the Twin Cities for a rare look at a roseate spoonbill making the species' first verifiable debut in Minnesota.

The lone roseate spoonbill, native to the Gulf Coast along the shores of Texas, Louisiana and Florida, was the star attraction in Bloomington shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday near the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge over the Minnesota River.

As word spread, hundreds of giddy birders aimed cameras and binoculars at the pinkish and rose-colored bird with the football-shaped body and the especially wide and flat bill.

The Minnesota Ornithologists' Union, which verifies the presence of birds in the state, now lists the roseate spoonbill as its 444th species.