Birders are still monitoring New Mexico’s First State Record European Golden Plover at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge. This rare find is also the first record of this species found in North America west of Delaware (photo by Richard Latuchie).

What an exciting find! Not only did birders find the First State Record European Golden Plover at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge in northeast New Mexico, it was the first record in North America west of Delaware! But New Mexico birders weren’t done, having documented a Second State Record Nelson’s Sparrow near Santa Rosa and a Fifth State Record Common Redpoll at a feeder in Albuquerque – what luck. Beyond New Mexico, there were four more First State Record sightings, including a Common Ringed Plover in Connecticut, a Painted Redstart – in North Carolina, a Brewer’s Sparrow in Ohio, and a Bell’s Vireo in Delaware – and there were many more exciting rare bird finds last week:

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record European Golden Plover – Maxwell Refuge, New Mexico

First State Record Common Ringed Plover – Hammonassett Beach, Connecticut

First State Record Painted Redstart – Pea Island Refuge, North Carolina

First State Record Brewer’s Sparrow – Lorain, Ohio

First State Record Bell’s Vireo – Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Second State Record Yellow-green Vireo – Cape May, New Jersey

Second State Record Nelson’s Sparrow – near Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Fifth State Record Common Redpoll – Albuquerque, New Mexico

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Yellow-browed Warbler – Middleton Island, Alaska

Common Ringed Plover – Tucson, California

Ruff – Casa Grande, Arizona

Northern Wheatear – San Clemente Island, California

Virginia Warbler – Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Townsend’s Warbler – near Halifax, Nova Scotia

Plumbeous Vireo – Point Pelee, Ontario

Philadelphia Vireo – near Nogales, Arizona

Upland Sandpiper – near Ocean Shores, Washington

Say’s Phoebe – Outer Banks, North Carolina

Black Phoebe – Brentwood Bay, British Columbia

Thick-billed Kingbird – near San Jose, California

Slaty-backed Gull – near Toronto, Ontario

Heermann’s Gull – Arivaca Junction, Arizona

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

Eared Quetzals (2) – southeast Arizona

Northern Jacana – southern Arizona

Thick-billed Vireo – southern Florida

With an army of birders on alert during the October Big Day this Saturday, there should be plenty of new records to report to you next week – maybe you will find one too!

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-october-9-2020/ Special Thanks to the ABA, and Nate Swick, who does such a great job of compiling the ABA’s Rare Bird Alert, which we use to prepare this weekly replay.

You can often find more information about individual rare bird sightings from the state rare bird alert listserves that you can access at http://birding.aba.org/ or at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/