Not one, but 2 Steller’s Sea Eagles were present on opposite sides of North America – our favorite mega-eagle was sighted again in Newfoundland, and a new Steller’s Sea Eagle was documented at Valdez, Alaska (photo by Christoph Moning).
|
This is an especially exciting Rare Birds report, partly because it includes 2 weeks of rare sightings, and partly due to the impressive birds found beyond their normal range by alert birders. There were 15 new state and provincial records established, including 4 First State Records, along with exciting Euro-birds like a Curlew Sandpiper and European Golden Plover; a Crescent-chested Warbler from Latin America, and Asian birds such as a Bar-tailed Godwit, and not one, but 2 Steller’s Sea Eagles were present on opposite sides of North America – our favorite mega-eagle was sighted again in Newfoundland, and a new Steller’s was documented in Alaska! And there’s much more:
STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS
First State Record Broad-billed Hummingbird – Elk River, Minnesota
First State Record Lucy’s Warbler – Fairbanks, Alaska
First State Record Least Tern – Anchorage, Alaska
First State Record Wedge-tailed Shearwater – offshore Sitka, Alaska
Second State Record Chestnut-collared Longspur – offshore southeast Alaska
Second State Record Limpkin – Little Storm Lake, Iowa
Third Provincial Record Mississippi Kites (12) – Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Third Provincial Record Nazca Booby – offshore Victoria, British Columbia
Fourth State Record Pacific Golden Plover – Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Fourth State Record Limpkin – southern Ohio
Fifth State Record Snail Kite – Flag Pond, Texas
Sixth State Record Anhinga – Lake Tappan, New York
Sixth State Record Curlew Sandpiper – Stratford Point, Connecticut
Sixth State Record Limpkin – Bald Knob Refuge, Arkansas
Seventh State Record Mexican Violetear – near Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eighth State Record Bar-tailed Godwit – Westhampton Beach, New York
REALLY RARE BIRDS
Steller’s Sea Eagle – Valdez, Alaska
Crescent-chested Warbler – Madera Canyon, Arizona
European Golden Plover – Cape Freels, Newfoundland
Yellow Rail – Monte Vista, Colorado
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – Cape Pierce, Alaska
Brown Pelican – near Pickstown, South Dakota
Wood Storks (4) – Octororo Reservoir, Pennsylvania
Sandwich Tern – Magdalen Island, Quebec
CONTINUING RARE BIRDS
Steller’s Sea Eagle – Newfoundland
Pine Flycatcher – Arizona
Southern Lapwing – Michigan
Nutting’s Flycatcher – Arizona
White-winged Tern – Delaware
Little Stint – California
Berylline Hummingbird – Arizona
Bahama Mockingbird – Florida
For more information, refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: July 22, 2022 - American Birding Association (aba.org) and Rare Bird Alert: July 29, 2022 - 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/