Arizona birders are appreciating the appearance of the Second North American Record Blue-black Grassquit at Buenos Aires Refuge in southern Arizona, north of the species' normal range that extends from Mexico to northern Argentina. Birders also documented 2 First State Records recently – a Yellow-billed Loon in Wisconsin and a Lesser Frigatebird in Connecticut. A Second State Record Common Ringed Plover was photographed in Washington, as was a Fourth State Record Brown Pelican in Idaho, plus an Eighth State Record Heermann's Gull in New Mexico – and there are more rare birds to report:
NORTH AMERICAN RECORD
Second North American Record Blue-black Grassquit – Buenos Aires Refuge, Arizona
STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS
First State Record Yellow-billed Loon – near Superior, Wisconsin
First State Record Lesser Frigatebird – near New Haven, Connecticut
Second State Record Blue-black Grassquit – Buenos Aires Refuge, Arizona
Second State Record Common Ringed Plover – Moclips, Washington
Fourth State Record Brown Pelican – Mud Lake, Idaho
Fifth State Record Fork-tailed Flycatcher – near Brooten, Minnesota
Seventh Provincial Record Roseate Tern – Cape Spear, Newfoundland
Eighth State Record Heermann's Gull – Roswell, New Mexico
REALLY RARE BIRDS
Eared Quetzal – Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Tufted Flycatcher – near Paradise, Arizona
Eurasian Whimbrel – Crescent City, California
Swallow-tailed Kite – near Blair, Nebraska
CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS
Steller's Sea Eagle – Newfoundland
Yellow-headed Caracara – Florida
Baikal Teal – Hawaii
Taiga Bean-Goose – British Columbia
Flame-colored Tanager – Arizona
For more information, you can refer to the American Birding Association's Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: August 7, 2026 - American Birding Association. Special Thanks to the ABA for permitting us to use the Rare Bird Alert as the basis to prepare this replay.
You can often find more information about individual rare bird sightings from the ABA regional and state rare bird alert listserves that you can access at Birding News brought to you by American Birding Association - (aba.org) or at ABA Rare Bird Alert | Facebook.