A real surprise for Quebec birders was a Burrowing Owl, an exciting First Provincial Record for Quebec, sighted last week in the town of Abitibi.
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Canadian birders were excited to find a First Provincial Record Burrowing Owl in Quebec last week, and skilled Kentucky birders added a First State Record Brewer’s Sparrow. Members of the Ohio Young Birders Club showed their prowess when they found and photographed the Fourth State Record Townsend’s Warbler on their field trip during The Biggest Week in American Birding to the delight of many Ohio listers. There were also some Eurasian and Latin birds in last week’s rare bird highlights, including a Common Crane, which has apparently appeared in Arizona for the third year at Morman Lake.
PROVINCIAL & STATE RECORDS
First Provincial Record Burrowing Owl – Abitibi, Quebec
First State Record Brewer’s Sparrow – Louisville , Kentucky
Second Provincial Record Black-throated Gray Warbler – Kelowna, British Columbia
Third State Record Bullock’s Oriole – Sleepy Eye, Minnesota
Fourth State Record Townsend’s Warbler – Maumee Bay State Park, Ohio
Fifth State Record Cassin’s Sparrows – near Beatty, Nevada
REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS
Common Crane – Mormon Lake, Arizona (third year)
Curlew Sandpiper – Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Tufted Ducks – Middletown, Rhode Island
Little Stint – Shemya Island, Alaska
Mexican Violetears – San Antonio and Weslaco, Texas
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – Campbell River, British Columbia
Yellow Rail – near Old Saybrook, Connecticut
MORE REALLY RARE WARBLERS
Kirtland’s Warbler – downtown Chicago, Illinois
Hooded Warbler – Corvalis, Oregon
Hooded Warbler – Bismarck, North Dakota
Hooded Warbler – near Wickenburg, Arizona
Prairie Warbler – Brookings, South Dakota
Swainson’s Warbler – Last Chance, Colorado
MORE REALLY RARE BIRDS
Lazuli Bunting – near Centerton, Arkansas
Blue Grosbeak – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Wilson’s Plover – Cupsogue Beach, New York
Common Gallinule – Wellington State Wildlife Area, Colorado
Fulvous Whistling Ducks – Charleston, Missouri
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks – Senecaville, Ohio and Breneman Quarry, Pennsylvania
Continuing rare birds include the Bahama Mockingbird and Zenaida Dove in Florida and the Slate-throated Redstart in westest Texas; the Black-tailed Gull and White-tailed Eagle in far western Alaska, a Barnacle Goose in Quebec, and the Little Egrets in southern Maine. Be alert! This spring has been excellent for producing rare birds.
For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at http://blog.aba.org/2019/05/rare-bird-alert-may-17-2019.html 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/