Lots of exciting rare birds continue into the ABA Area this month including the breeding (with an American Herring Gull) Kelp Gull (ABA Code 4) in Wisconsin, the continuing White-winged Tern (4) in California, and the ever-present Steller’s Sea-Eagle (4) in Newfoundland. Also seen into this week, one of the Yellow Grosbeaks (4) in Colorado.
One of the more exciting birds in the ABA Area this week, in terms of rarity and beauty, has to the Spotted Redshank (4), discovered in Cambridge, Ontario, this week. It is one of fewer than 10 records for the province, but the first in more than 20 years. This species used to be more regular in the ABA Area, and the 70s and 80s were something of a high-water mark for records in North America. Those has dried up significantly, perhaps due to a decline in the breeding population in Scandinavia and Finland in the early 2000s. The IUCN still lists Spotted Redshank as a Species of Least Concern, though the bulk of the population breeds farther east now across Russia. The last “chaseable” Spotted Redshank in the ABA Area was in Michigan in 2018.
Stint season is ramping up in the ABA Area, and Pennsylvania gets on the receiving end of a Little Stint (4), the state’s 1st record, at Heinz NWR in Philadelphia. There is a cluster of Little Stint records from Delaware up into New Hampshire—several occurring quite close to Pennsylvania, on the Delaware Bay in the past—but none (save this one) farther north than Bombay Hook NWR.
We head about as far west as one can go in the ABA Area to find another stint, this time a Red-necked Stint (3) on Kure Atoll in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. There are about a dozen previous Hawaiian Island records for this species.
In British Columbia, a likely Arctic Loon in Sooke would be the province’s 5th.
Lucky pelagic birders in California spotted a Blue-footed Booby (3) near Santa Barbara Island, along with two other more expected booby species, earlier in the month.
Exciting news out of Texas, where a second Cattle Tyrant was reported near Galveston, about 200 miles from where the potential ABA Area 1st record has been present for the better part of two years in Corpus Christi. This means that this is very likely a different bird, potentially Texas’s 2nd (or 1st), which might prompt a reevaluation of the potential for natural provenance for this species in the ABA Area.
Up to Kansas, where a Wood Stork was a nice find in Linn Co.
South Dakota has a Crested Caracara seen in Edmunds Co this week.
North Dakota picked up a Carolina Wren in LaMoure Co in late July, the state’s 3rd and a very nice record for a species that is not known to wander much at all.
And in Missouri, the late summer dispersal of waders has deposited a Roseate Spoonbill at Aldrich.
Omissions and errors are not intended, but if you find any please message blog AT aba.org and I will try to fix them as soon as possible. This post is meant to be an account of the most recently reported birds. Continuing birds not mentioned are likely included in previous editions listed here. Place names written in italics refer to counties/parishes. Readers should note that none of these reports has yet been vetted by a records committee. All birders are urged to submit documentation of rare sightings to the appropriate state or provincial committees. For full analysis of these and other bird observations, subscribe to North American Birds, the richly illustrated journal of ornithological record published by the ABA.
