Among a wealth of interesting rare birds documented last week, the Ninth State Record Long-billed Curlew for Arkansas was observed at Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge.

A wonderful assortment of rare birds was recorded by birders across the continent last week, including seven new state records. Two First State Records were found: A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in southeast Oregon and a Red-footed Booby in Ocean Springs, Mississippi – apparently the first rare bird reported after Hurricane Sarah passed through the region. Really rare finds include a Black-whiskered Vireo in Virginia, a Common Ringed Plover in Newfoundland, a Fork-tailed Flycatcher in South Carolina, and a Common Black Hawk in Colorado.

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – Fields, Oregon

First State Record Red-footed Booby – Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Third State Record Black-throated Gray Warbler – Cape Henlopen, Delaware

Third State Record Masked Booby – Cape May, New Jersey

Fifth State Record Neotropic Cormorant – Midland, Michigan

Sixth State Record Blue-headed Vireo – Antelope Island Park, Utah

Ninth State Record Long-billed Curlew – Bald Knob Refuge, Arkansas

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Black-whiskered Vireo – Kiptopeke State Park, Virginia

Common Ringed Plover – Argentia, Newfoundland

Fork-tailed Flycatcher – Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina

Common Black Hawk – near Colorado Springs, Colorado

Yellow-throated Warbler – Eugene, Oregon

Northern Wheatear – Vogler’s Cove, Nova Scotia

Black-throated Gray Warbler – Parker River Refuge, Massachusetts

Sabine’s Gull – Waterside Beach Park, Nova Scotia

Brown Pelican – Waverly, West Virginia

Neotropic Cormorants (2) – Hamilton, Ontario

Magnificent Frigatebird – Pickerington Ponds, Ohio

Magnificent Frigatebird – Peterborough, Ontario

Red Phalarope – Antelope Island Park, Utah

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Haute-Cote-Nord, Quebec

Say’s Phoebe – Seattle, Washington

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

Southeast Arizona is the center for continuing rare bird sightings reported here in past weeks, including the young Northern Jacana, a pair of Eared Quetzals, the Berylline Hummingbird, and Plain-capped Starthroat. Beyond the Southwest, the Thick-billed Vireo is still being reported in Miami, Florida.

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-september-18-2020/ 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/