A western species found in the winter in Tennessee surprised birders across the continent and provided the First State Record White-throated Swift for the state.
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A most exciting aspect of birding is finding rare birds, and reporting them. Last week three First State Record species were documented, including a First White-throated Swift in Tennessee, a First Buff-bellied Hummingbird in Virginia, and a First Winter Wren in the state of Washington. In addition, there was a Second Provincial Record Scott’s Oriole reported in Ontario, and a Third State Record Lesser Goldfinch in Iowa. Other exciting off-course species included a Slaty-backed Gull, Pink-footed Goose, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and more.
STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS
First State Record White-throated Swift – Chattanooga, Tennessee
First State Record Buff-bellied Hummingbird – Norfolk, Virginia
First State Record Winter Wren – Orting, Washington
Second Provincial Record Scott’s Oriole – near Elmwood, Ontario
Third State Record Lesser Goldfinch – West Des Moines, Iowa
REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS
Slaty-backed Gull – Niagara Falls, New York
Pink-footed Goose – Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Fork-tailed Flycatcher – Galveston, Texas
Northern Wheatear – Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Varied Thrush – Sudbury, Massachusetts
Scissor-tailed Flycather – San Diego, California
CONTINUING RARE BIRDS
Tundra Bean Goose – Pennsylvania
Common Shelduck – Newfoundland
Spotted Rail – Texas
Crimson-collared Grosbeaks – south Texas
Blue Buntings – south Texas
Cuban Pewee – Florida Keys
Red-legged Thrush – Florida Keys
Black-faced Grassquit – Florida Keys
LaSagra’s Flycatcher – Florida
Northern Jacana – southern Arizona
For more information, refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-january-15-2021/ 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/