Normally found in wetlands in the lowlands of Mexico, Central America, and the larger Caribbean isles, birders delighted in seeing a rare Northern Jacana at Santa Ana Refuge in Texas last week (photo by Liam Wolff).

An exceptional Third North American Record Lesser White-throat was documented last week at Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. And Canadian birders found 2 First Provincial Records: a Broad-billed Hummingbird in Saskatchewan, the farthest north sighting for this species, and a First Provincial Record Surfbird in southern Ontario. A Second State Record Elegant Tern was photographed in North Carolina, as was a Fourth State Record Bell’s Vireo in Virginia. Back in the Bering Sea, a Fourth State Record Redwing was photographed on St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs of Alaska, and there are more exciting birds to report:

NORTH AMERICAN RECORD

Third North American Record Lesser White-throat – Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First Provincial Record Broad-billed Hummingbird – Swift Current, Saskatchewan

First Provincial Record Surfbird – Long Point, Ontario

Second State Record Elegant Tern – Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Third State Record Lesser White-throat – Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Fourth State Record Redwing – St. Paul Island, Pribilofs, Alaska

Fourth State Record Bell’s Vireo – Back Bay Refuge, Virginia

REALLY RARE BIRDS

Northern Jacana – Santa Ana Refuge, Texas

Common Cranes (2) – Delta Junction, Alaska

Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher – Marathon, Florida

Eyebrowed Thrush – Adak Island, the Aleutians, Alaska

Purple Martins (small flock) – Juneau, Alaska

Black-headed Grosbeak – Clearwater, Florida

CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS

Steller’s Sea Eagle – Newfoundland

Yellow-headed Caracara – Florida

Mottled Owl – Texas

Dark-sided Flycatcher –California

Variegated Flycatcher – Florida

Black-tailed Gull – Quebec

Kelp Gull – Wisconsin

Gray Gull – Florida

Berylline Hummingbird – Arizona

American Flamingos – Florida, Texas

For more information, you can refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: Sept. 20–26, 2025 - American Birding Association (aba.org). Special Thanks to the ABA for permitting us to use the Rare Bird Alert as the basis to prepare this weekly or bi-weekly replay.

You can often find more information about individual rare bird sightings from the ABA state rare bird alert listserves that you can access at Birding News brought to you by American Birding Association - (aba.org) or at ABA Rare Bird Alert | Facebook.