Rare Bird Alert

A quick programming note that there will not be a Rare Bird Alert next week, as I will be out of town. We’ll catch up with the last two weeks the following Friday.

Continuing rarities in the ABA Area include the Large-billed Terns (ABA Code 5) in Florida, Berylline Hummingbird (4) in Arizona, and multiple Hawfinches (4) scattered across western Alaska.

One of the more mind-blowing rarities of the year came this week in North Carolina, where an apparent Plumbeous Vireo in Dare Co is a 1st for the state and one of very few records in the eastern US for this Great Basin species. There are a small handful of records in the Great Lakes region, most from spring, and one wonders if the relative paucity of records has as much to do with the difficulty in identifying this species from the formerly conspecific Blue-headed Vireo than it does with genuine rarity.

Another 1st for the period comes from Montana, its second in as many weeks, in a Dusky-capped Flycatcher recorded in Sheridon Co, to go along with the recent Scott’s Oriole and a whole suite of rarities seen in the state this spring.

British Columbia’s 2nd record of White-eyed Vireo was well-documented in Ucluelet this week.

Add Common House-Martin (4) in Nome to the list of East Asian vagrants seen in western Alaska in the last month.

A Least Tern in Jackson Co, Oregon, is one of a spate of records of this species in the state in the last couple years, though there are still fewer than 20 all told.

Notable for Utah was a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in San Juan Co.

Colorado’s 3rd record of Arctic Loon was seen by many in El Paso Co this week.

Arizona has had three(!) Yellow Grosbeaks (4) in the southeast part of the state this week, one in Cochise Co and a pair in Santa Cruz Co. 

Oklahoma’s 3rd record of Royal Tern was photographed in Oklahoma City, notably not associated with a Gulf of Mexico tropical storm as previous records were.

Newfoundland’s 5th record of Common Chaffinch (4) was visiting a feeder in Lawn this week.

And in Maine, an Acadian Flycatcher near Portland is potentially the state’s 8th record.

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.

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.