Continuing rarities in the ABA Area include the ABA 1st Gray Gull (ABA Code 5) in Florida, and a Yellow-headed Caracara (5) in coastal Texas.
The track record for fall rarities in California has historically been very good. There is rarely a year in which this period doesn’t produce a mind-bending rarity, be it from east Asia, Mexico or on the ocean. Lucky birders on a pelagic out of Bodega Bay in Marin Co struck gold this week in the form of a spectacular Waved Albatross (5) which represents a 1st record for California and the ABA Area.
This species famously breeds primarily on Española Island in the Galapagos archipelago, and despite being mostly limited to the west coast of South America, has been considered a possibility in California waters for some time, especially as other Galapagos breeders like Nazca Booby and Swallow-tailed Gull have become more regular in the last decade. Even so, this is the farthest north record of this large albatross by some distance, but records in western Central America, including one from earlier this fall in Costa Rica, suggested the tantalizing possibility.
To the other side of the continent, where a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (3) at Hartlen Point, Nova Scotia, represents a 1st record for the province. This species is a regular vagrant to the ABA Area, with several records already on the Pacific coast. This is the first for the eastern half of the continent this fall.
New Hampshire’s 6th record of LeConte’s Sparrow was seen this week in Rockingham Co.
It has been a very birdy week in Massachusetts, with a number of notable finds including the state’s 6th Gray Kingbird on Cape Cod, a trio of Bar-tailed Godwits (3) along with a Harris’s Sparrow in Plymouth Co, and a Barolo Shearwater (4) seen offshore south of Nantucket.
In Michigan, a Purple Gallinule was found in Chippewa Co with a second shortly after in Benzie Co. There are fewer than 20 records for the state. Also, a Black-throated Gray Warbler was seen in Ottawa Co, and the state’s 10th Mexican Violetear (3) at a feeder in Keweenaw Co.
In Texas, a Red-footed Booby (4) was seen from shore in Harris Co.
In Alberta, the province’s 3rd record of Northern Wheatear was unfortunately the victim of a cat in Edmonton. The bird was reportly rehabbed with light injuries.
Good birds this week in British Columbia include a Steller’s Eider at Port Hardy and a Summer Tanager on Sonora Island.
And in Washington, the state’s 7th record of Little Blue Heron was photographed in Benton Co.
Omissions and errors are not intended, but if you find any, please message blog AT aba.org and we 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 installments of the ABA Rare Bird Alert. Readers should note that most of these reports have not yet been vetted by a records committee. All birders are urged to submit documentation of rare sightings to the appropriate state or provincial records 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.
