A new First State Record for Colorado, a Ruddy Ground Dove was observed in the small town of Norwood in southwest Colorado (photo by Matthew Grube).

Several Asian birds were found last week, including a First State Record Oriental Greenfinch near the coast at Florence, Oregon, which is only the third record in North America beyond Alaska. Speaking of Alaska, another Steller’s Sea Eagle was photographed inland from Kotzebue, Alaska, in the far northwest. California is hosting two Asian birds – a Garganey at the Salton Sea and a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that has delighted birders on the shore of Morro Bay. One notable European bird, a Little Egret, was observed in Nova Scotia.

That’s not to overlook an impressive First State Record Ruddy Ground Dove photographed in southwest Colorado, a Second State Record Painted Redstart in the capitol city of Minnesota, and yet another Second State Record Painted Redstart, this one in Brooklyn, New York. A surprising Second Provincial Record Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher was photographed in New Brunswick, and a Second State Record Cassin’s Sparrow was observed near Eugene, Oregon. To round out the list of record-breaking sightings, a Third State Record Bell’s Vireo was photographed in Connecticut. And we can’t fail to highlight two sightings of Latin American Fork-tailed Flycatchers, one in New York and another in Louisiana. Quite a week, but there’s much more below!

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record Oriental Greenfinch – Florence, Oregon

First State Record Ruddy Ground Dove – Norwood, Colorado

Second State Record Painted Redstart – Saint Paul, Minnesota

Second State Record Painted Redstart – Brooklyn, New York

Second Provincial Record Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher – near Riverview, New Brunswick

Second State Record Cassin’s Sparrow – near Eugene, Oregon

Third State Record Bell’s Vireo – Milford, Connecticut

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Steller’s Sea Eagle – inland from Kotzebue, Alaska

Garganey – Salton Sea Rec Area, California

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper – Morro Bay, California

Fork-tailed Flycatcher – near Kingston, New York

Fork-tailed Flycatcher – near Sulphur, Louisiana

Little Egret – Pictou, Nova Scotia

Golden-crowned Sparrow – Abbott, Maine

Little Gull – Hansville, Washington

Vermillion Flycatcher – Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

White-winged Dove – Cote-Nord, Quebec

Varied Thrush – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Lazuli Bunting – Miami, Florida

Blackburnian Warbler – Grand Canyon, Arizona

Say’s Phoebe – Franklin, Tennessee

Eastern Wood Pewee – near Parker, Arizona

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

European Golden Plover – New Mexico

Eared Quetzal – New Mexico

Eared Quetzals (2) – southeast Arizona

Northern Jacana – southern Arizona

Red-legged Thrush – Key West, Florida

Black-faced Grassquit – south Florida

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-october-23-2020/ 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/