Rarely seen beyond Texas in the United States, a young White-tailed Hawk was documented on Grass Island in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which established a First State Record.

Birders found 3 First State Record birds last week, a young White-tailed Hawk in Alabama, a Townsend’s Solitaire in West Virginia, and a Field Sparrow in Oregon. Connecticut birders were especially busy as they established 4 new state records in that small state – a Third State Record Green-tailed Towhee, a Sixth State Record Black Guillemot, a Black-chinned Hummingbird observed last fall but not reported until last week established a Second State Record, and a Seventh State Record Common Gull. Neighboring Rhode Island birders added a Third State Record Common Gull and Indiana birders located a Fifth State Record Slaty-backed Gull.

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record White-tailed Hawk – Gulf Shores, Alabama

First State Record Townsend’s Solitaire – near Forman, West Virginia

First State Record Field Sparrow – Monmouth, Oregon

Second State Record Black-chinned Hummingbird – near Hartford, Connecticut

Third State Record Green-tailed Towhee – Fairfield, Connecticut

Third State Record Common Gull – Bristol, Rhode Island

Fifth State Record Slaty-backed Gull – near Elkhart, Indiana

Sixth State Record Black Guillemot – New London, Connecticut

Seventh State Record Common Gull – near Tolland, Connecticut

Eleventh State Record Barrow’s Goldeneye – Lake Meredith, Texas

REALLY RARE BIRDS

Red-legged Honeycreeper – Miami, Florida

Common Snipe – Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland

Purple Gallinule – Halifax, Nova Scotia

Ross’s Goose – Harford, Connecticut

CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS

Red-flanked Bluetail – California

Common Crane – Washington

Whooper Swan – Washington

Streak-backed Oriole – California

Bahama Mockingbird – Florida

LaSagra’s Flycatcher – Florida

Curlew Sandpiper – California

Little Stint – California

For more information, refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: January 20, 2023 - American Birding Association (aba.org) 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 info 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/