Wednesday, November 4, 2020

The ABA Rare Bird Alert’s Weekly Highlights

BC Birders found a Fourth Provincial Record Little Blue Heron in Fraser Valley, British Columbia – in addition to the first Red-backed Shrike recorded in Canada!

Would you believe two Second North American Records were established last week?! A migrating South American flycatcher, a White-crested Eleania flew far too far north, all the way to northern North Dakota to be exact! It also appears this individual belongs to the Chilean subspecies, which means it likely began its unorthodox migration in southwest South America! Just as shocking may be a Red-backed Shrike that originated no closer than Mongolia in middle Asia – found in British Columbia! It’s a First Record for BC, a First Record for Canada, and a Second North American Record! In all, there were 10 exciting state and provincial records reported last week, including 6 First Records, which are listed below.

 

NORTH AMERICAN RECORDS!

Second North American Record White-crested Elaenia – Grand Forks, North Dakota

Second North American Record Red-backed Shrike – Powell River, British Columbia

 

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record White-crested Elaenia – Grand Forks, North Dakota

First Provincial Record Red-backed Shrike – Powell River, British Columbia

First State Record Tropical Kingbird – Dobbs Ferry, New York

First State Record Pacific Wren – Manitou Island, Michigan

First State Record Pacific Wren – New Orleans, Louisiana

First State Record Violet-green Swallow – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Second State Record Chestnut-collared Longspur – near Hollis, New Hampshire

Second State Record Townsend’s Warbler – East Haven, Connecticut

Fourth Provincial Record Little Blue Heron – Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Seventh State Record Vermillion Flycatcher – Lost Lake, Oregon

 

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Little Bunting – Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Streaked Shearwater – offshore Monterey, California

Northern Lapwing – Canso, Nova Scotia

White Wagtail – Estero Bluffs State Park, California

Curlew Sandpiper – near Aberdeen, Maryland

Tropical Kingbird – Ocean City, Maryland

Tropical Kingbird – Fairhope, Alabama

Townsend’s Solitaire – Seaforth, Nova Scotia

Townsend’s Warbler – Scusset Beach, Massachusetts

Black-throated Gray Warbler – Madison, Wisconsin

Lawrence’s Goldfinch – El Paso, Texas

Franklin’s Gull – Northampton, Massachusetts

Northern Gannet – near Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Purple Gallinule – Franklinville, New York

 

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

Eared Quetzals (2) – southeast Arizona

Northern Jacana – southern Arizona

Red-legged Thrush – Florida Keys

Black-faced Grassquit – Florida Keys

Red-footed Booby – San Diego, California

 

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-october-30-2020/ 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/