Western Gulls are normally found along the Pacific Coast, so a sighting west of the Rocky Mountains last week in Grande Prairie, Alberta, was rare enough to constitute a First Provincial Record.

The first week of May provided many more rare bird sightings, including two Canadian First Provincial Records – a Western Gull in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and a Lesser Goldfinch near Yorkton, Saskatchewan. A Fifth State Record Garganey was found in Chincoteague Refuge in Virginia, which is the sixth Garganey found in the United States and Canada this year. There was also a Ninth State Record Western Tanager that was found visiting a grape jelly feeder near Carunna, Indiana – and lots more!

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First Provincial Record Western Gull – Grande Prairie, Alberta

First Provincial Record Lesser Goldfinch – near Yorkton, Saskatchewan

Fifth State Record Garganey – Chincoteague Refuge, Virginia

Ninth State Record Western Tanager – near Carunna, Indiana

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Ruff – Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Indigo Bunting – Nanaimo, British Columbia

Kentucky Warbler – Chandler, Arizona

Black-throated Gray Warbler – near Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hermit Warbler – near Wiley, Colorado

Sage Thrasher – near Des Moines, Iowa

Green-tailed Towhee – Nakusp, British Columbia

Ash-throated Flycatcher – near Ridgeley, Tennessee

Painted Bunting – Lewes, Delaware

Painted Bunting – Iowa City, Iowa

Snowy Plover – near Woodson, Illinois

Western Grebe – Stamford, Connecticut

White-faced Ibis – Easton, Pennsylvania

White-faced Ibis – Iroquois Refuge, New York

Mottled Duck – Loess Bluffs Refuge, Missouri

Mottled Duck – Clarence Cannon Refuge, Missouri

Pacific Loon – Ohio River in Ohio and West Virginia

(near Belleville, WV and Reedsville, OH)

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

Arizona holds all the continuing rare birds this week, including Crescent-chested Warblers near Portal, and a Berylline Hummingbird in Madera Canyon. The past couple of weeks have produced many more rare bird reports, so be sure to be on the lookout for exceptional birds beyond their normal range.

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at https://www.aba.org/rare-bird-alert-may-8-2020/ 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/