The fourth North American Record of a Spotted Rail found north of Mexico has been observed and photographed by birders at Choke Canyon State Park, located south of San Antonio, Texas (photo by Isaac Sanchez).
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Over the holidays, the American Birding Association compiled 3 weeks of rare bird sightings, which included many exciting observations of off-course birds far from their normal seasonal ranges. At the top of the list is a Fourth North American Record of a Spotted Rail in Texas, and the First Canadian Record of a Hawfinch documented in Yukon Territory. In addition, there were 6 First State Records, including a Tundra Bean Goose in Pennsylvania, a Little Stint in South Carolina, an Allen’s Hummingbird in Wisconsin, a Hutton’s Vireo in Nevada, a Western Meadowlark in Virginia, and a Townsend’s Solitaire in Delaware.
NORTH AMERICAN RECORD
Fourth American Record Spotted Rail – Choke Canyon State Park, Texas
CANADIAN RECORD
First Canadian Record Hawfinch – Haines Junction, Yukon
STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS
January 1 Report:
First Territorial Record Hawfinch – Haines Junction, Yukon
First State Record Western Meadowlark – Williamsburg, Virginia
First State Record Townsend’s Solitaire – Lewes, Delaware
Fifth State Record Bullock’s Oriole – near Farmingdale, New Jersey
December 25 Report:
First State Record Little Stint – McClellanville, South Carolina
First State Record Allen’s Hummingbird – New Glarus, Wisconsin
First State Record Hutton’s Vireo – near Reno, Nevada
Second Provincial Record Common Pochard – Parksville, British Columbia
Second State Record Brown-headed Nuthatch – Springboro, Ohio
Third State Record Spotted Rail – Choke Canyon State Park, Texas
December 18 Report:
First State Record Tundra Bean Goose – Media, Pennsylvania
Fifth State Record Anhinga – Churchville, New York
Seventh State Record Yellow-billed Loon – Big Creek Lake, Iowa
Fourteenth State Record Barrow’s Goldeneye – Smithville Lake, Missouri
HOLIDAY REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS
Common Shelduck – Forteau, Newfoundland
Golden-crowned Warbler – Laguna Atascosa Refuge, Texas
Magnificent Frigatebird – Galilee Harbor, Rhode Island
Siberian Accentor – Homer, Alaska
Black-headed Gull – Stockton, California
Glaucous Gull – Guntersville, Alabama
Northern Wheatear – Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania
Calliope Hummingbird – Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Allen’s Hummingbird – Springfield, Pennsylvania
Bullock’s Oriole – near Cocagne, New Brunswick
Black-throated Gray Warbler – Roanoke Island, North Carolina
Sage Thrasher – near Hinsdale, New Hampshire
Varied Thrush – Chepachet, Rhode Island
Yellow-billed Loon – Bell Rapids, Idaho
CONTINUING RARE BIRDS
Spotted Rail – south Texas
Crimson-collared Grosbeaks – south Texas
Blue Buntings – south Texas
Cuban Pewee – Florida Keys
Red-legged Thrush – Florida Keys
Black-faced Grassquit – Florida Keys
Northern Jacana – southern Arizona
For more information about , refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-january-1-2021/ and https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-december-25-2020/ and https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-december-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/