Sightings of Brown Jays on the Texas side of the border have been increasingly rare, making recent sightings of up to 4 Brown Jays south of Cotulla especially noteworthy.

Observed far inland near Raleigh, a Red-footed Booby established the Second State Record by North Carolina birders, while it may also be the farthest inland sighting of this seabird species. An exciting observation of a female Blue Bunting was documented at near Brownsville, Texas; and a flock of Brown Jays has been sighted farther northwest along the Rio Grande Valley. Continuing Rare Birds include the Gray Heron in Nova Scotia, the Whooper Swan and Common Crane in Washington, Red-flanked Bluetail in California, and more.

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

Second State Record Red-footed Booby – Yates Mill Pond, North Carolina

REALLY RARE BIRDS

Blue Bunting – near Brownsville, Texas

Brown Jays – near Cotulla, Texas

Thick-billed Murre – Jacksonville, Florida

Western Meadowlark – Brooklyn, New York

CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS

Gray Heron – Nova Scotia

Red-flanked Bluetail – California

Little Stint – California

Curlew Sandpiper – California

Common Crane – Washington

Whooper Swan – Washington

Common Shelduck – Pennsylvania

Streak-backed Oriole – California

Bahama Mockingbird – Florida

LaSagra’s Flycatcher – Florida

For more information, refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: March 3, 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/