'He Also Likes The Bacon Bits': Bird Seen Eating From Twin Cities Supermarket Salad Bar
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There was a recent bird sighting in an unusual place.
When Daniel Hoffeld went to the Shakopee Hy-Vee for his lunch break Tuesday, something strange caught his eye.
"While we're sitting there I saw something and [was] just like, 'What was that [laughs]?" Hoffeld said.
After convincing himself he was seeing things, there it was -- right in front of him.
"'Look over at the salad bar, there's a bird [laughs]!'" Hoffeld said.
Still in disbelief, Hoffeld started recording.
"So while I'm sitting there filming, this lady comes over to me [and I'm like], 'Oh, I'm gonna get in trouble [laughs],' and she goes, 'Oh, you're just looking at the bird?' And I'm like, 'Yeah!'" he said.
Hoffeld tells us the worker he talked to seemed to know the bird well.
"I didn't tell her, like, to change it out. It's just anyone knowing you might want to do something about the watermelon. And she was like, 'Oh yeah, he loves the watermelon. He also likes the bacon bits, and over there on the Coke machine it gets some standing water, so he likes to drink out of it and take baths. And when he's done, he flies over behind the little hickory hut and that's where I think he lives," Hoffeld said.
We saw the bird for ourselves on Tuesday, at the same spot, the salad bar.
We reached out to managers at the store, who tell us they are aware of the situation, and that they have had professionals out over the past week to try and take care of it.
"I feel bad, I don't want anything to happen to the bird, but at the same time, like, people eat off that salad bar," Hoffeld said. "It seems like Hy-Vee's his home now, so, maybe it warms back up, he'll want to leave, but if he's eating that good I don't think he will [laughs]!"
Hy-Vee corporate officials gave WCCO this statement Thursday evening:
We do everything possible to ensure our customers' safety. The instant we discovered the bird in our store, we immediately contacted a pest control company and took steps to address the situation. We also took steps to follow proper food safety measures. In addition, it is also standard procedure for us to change out our salad bar every day to make sure we are serving the freshest produce. We pride ourselves on having clean locations, and it is very unfortunate that this bird made its way inside, which occasionally can occur in retail stores.