As Swallow-tailed Kites begin migrating, last week a few were sighted beyond their normal range – in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Ohio.

The big news this week was a First Record sighting of a Couch’s Kingbird in Oklahoma, but a few Swallow-tailed Kites were on the move north and west beyond their normal range into Oklahoma and Missouri, while two were sighted in central Ohio to the delight of area birders. Asian species crossing the International Date Line last week included an Olive-backed Pipit at Gambel on St. Lawrence Island in far northwest Alaska; plus a long-distance migrant, a Red-necked Stint that migrated from Asia to the famous shorebird stopover site of Grays Harbor, Washington – and there’s more!

STATE RECORDS

First Provincial Record Couch’s Kingbird – Lawton, Oklahoma

Third State Record Hudsonian Godwit – Hawaii, the Big Island, Hawaii

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Red-necked Stint – Grays Harbor, Washington

Olive-backed Pipit – Gambel, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Common Ringed Plover – Pettit-Saguenay, Quebec

Swallow-tailed Kites (2) – near Howard, Ohio

Swallow-tailed Kite – Woodward, Oklahoma

Swallow-tailed Kite – Belleview, Missouri

Pacific Golden Plover – Stillwater Refuge, Nevada

Wandering Tattler – Antelope Island State Park, Utah

Piping Plover – Chatfield Reservoir State Park, Colorado

Limpkin – Fountainhead Regional Park, Virginia

Fulvous Whistling Ducks (4) – Otter Slough, Missouri

CONTINUING RARE BIRDS

As we begin tallying September’s rare bird sightings across the continent, birders are still finding the beautiful Berylline Hummingbird along with a host of other hummers in Southeast Arizona, and three Thick-billed Vireos are still being observed at Long Key State Park in the Florida Keys. A Little Egret is being seen in southern Maine, the far off-course Common Crane continues its summer residency in north-central Arizona, and the Yellow-billed Loon was re-located in Iowa. Many birds have begun early migrations and September is sure to see an upturn of exciting rare bird sightings with the change of seasons. Stay alert!

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at http://blog.aba.org/2019/08/rare-bird-alert-august-30-2019.html

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/