Rare Bird Alert

Notable ABA rarities continuing into this week include Berylline Hummingbird (ABA Code 4) in Arizona, the Pallas’s Bunting (5) on Gambell, Alaska, and the small flock of Tamaulipas Crows (4) in south Texas.

The drive to migrate that propelled the last month of vagrants in the ABA Area has wained a bit, and the list is shorter than it has been in a few weeks, but there are still birds moving and with the prospect of post-breeding dispersal on the horizon, it won’t be long before we’re in good birds all over the US and Canada. Even so, it’s a good time for pelagics, and trips off shore in California in the last week have turned up a young Short-tailed Albatross (3) and Nazca Booby (3) in Los Angeles waters. The former is quite rare that far south and the latter is showing up in ever increasing numbers throughout the summer.

Theres is one 1st record to report this week, in Vermont, where a Little Egret (4) at Royalton is that state’s first, finally benefitting from the annual presence of this species in nearby Maine.

And a quick look at Alaska shows that there are still good birds to be found, even if some of the hottest rarity islands are still off-limits to visiting birders. Great Knot (4) and Eurasian Hobby (4) are nice finds at Nome, and a Long-billed Murrelet (3) is a nice find at Homer.

A nice bird for British Columbia is a Hooded Oriole, the province’s second this year, in West Vancouver.

The Limpkin invasion continues in Texas, where the state’s 3rd, was found in Parker. All Limpkin records from texas have come from the last month.

Up to Minnesota, where a Magnificent Frigatebird spotted in Mille Lacs represents the state’s 2nd.

New Jersey also had a Magnificent Frigatebird, at Cape May and furnishing the state’s 12th.

North Carolina has seen a number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks this spring, with groups turning up in Durham and Hyde this week.

In Connecticut, a Gull-billed Tern was a nice find at Milford.

New Hampshire also has Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a flock in Exeter.

In Quebec, a Black-necked Stilt was a good bird in Montérégie.

And to Newfoundland, where a Sandwich Tern was discovered in a tern colony in Codroy Valley.

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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.