Wednesday, December 9, 2020

The ABA Rare Bird Alert’s Weekly Highlights

The First State Record Great Kiskadee was found in northeast Illinois, near Channahon.

Birders in Illinois found a First State Record Great Kiskadee last week, and in Virginia a First State Record Couch’s Kingbird was documented. Two Second State Records were set when a Red-bellied Woodpecker was identified in Oregon, and a Rock Wren in Maine. North Carolina birders also found a Fourth State Record MacGillivray’s Warbler and a Fifth State Record Varied Thrush. Texas birders found a number of exceptional birds, including a Blue Bunting, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Rufous-capped Sparrow, and a Clark’s Nutcracker.

 

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record Great Kiskadee – near Channahon, Illinois

First State Record Couch’s Kingbird – Chincoteague Refuge, Virginia

Second State Record Red-bellied Woodpecker – Cottage Grove, Oregon

Second State Record Rock Wren – Ogunquit, Maine

Fourth State Record MacGillivray’s Warbler – Duck, North Carolina

Fifth State Record Varied Thrush – Cary, North Carolina

Fourteenth State Record Vermillion Flycatcher – near Bragg City, Missouri

 

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Blue Bunting – Estero Llano Grande Park, Texas

Crimson-collared Grosbeak – Quinta Mazatlan, Texas

Rufous-capped Sparrow – Del Rio, Texas

Common Crane – Wilcox, Arizona

Arctic Loon – Qualicum, British Columbia

Clark’s Nutcracker – Alpine, Texas

Black-chinned Hummingbird – Apex, North Carolina

White-eyed Vireo – Winona, Minnesota

White-eyed Vireo – Farm Island, South Dakota

Allen’s Hummingbird – Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Anna’s Hummingbird – Kimberling City, Missouri

Golden-crowned Sparrow – Bas-Saint-Laurent, Quebec

Golden-crowned Sparrow – Rockford, Illinois

Gyrfalcon – Dunbar Slough Wildlife Area, Iowa

Evening Grosbeaks – near Tuscumbia, Alabama

Spotted Towhee – Gaspesie, Quebec

Northern Shrike – Peabody Wildlife Area, Kentucky

Painted Bunting – Ashland Nature Center, Delaware

Razorbill – Niagara, Ontario

Western Grebe – Gavin Brown Preserve, Kentucky

 

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

Cuban Pewee – Florida Keys

Fork-tailed Flycatcher– northern Arkansas

Little Egrets – Dominion Beach, Nova Scotia

Red-legged Thrush – Florida Keys

Black-faced Grassquit – Florida Keys

Northern Jacana – southern Arizona

Garganey – Salton Sea, California

 

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-november-27-2020/ 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/