Rare Bird Alert: June 5, 2015

Ramsey Canyon in Cochise County, Arizona, continues to be arguably the best place to bird in the ABA Area, and likely will be until the Tufted Flycatchers and Flame-colored Tanagers that continue to be seen there fledge young. A handful of other notable birds have been seen in the area, but none more notable than an ABA Code 5 Blue Mockingbird, a well-photographed no doubter record heart-breakingly photographed on May 21st and not seen since. Previous Blue Mockingbirds in the ABA Area have been long-stayers, though, so birders should definitely keep an eye out for this or any other Mexican strays in the Huachucas this summer.

We had two first records this week, and a third from last week that I neglected to include in the last go-round. It’s been an exceptional spring for Little Egret in the northeast, so it’s only perhaps a little surprising that one would turn up in Ontario. This Little Egret (4), a 1st for the province, was photographed near Ottawa.

Missouri had a long overdue Crested Caracara, a potential 1st record observed in Barton in the far western part of the state.

And the one I missed was on Prince Edward Island, where a Tricolored Heron photographed near Brackley would represent a provincial 1st there.

Staying in Atlantic Canada, a Crested Caracara at Grande Anse, New Brunswick, may be the individual that has been floating around the region over the last couple years.

In Quebec, notable birds include a Cinnamon Teal at Abitibi-Ouest and a nice male Painted Bunting at a feeder in Lac-Saint-Jean.

A Lark Bunting in Mount Desert Island, Maine, was a highlight of a recent bird festival there, and a Franklin’s Gull at Stratton Island was also good.

In Connecticut, a White-faced Ibis was found at Milford.

A pelagic off Suffolk, New York, was dubbed skua-palooza by participants, who had a remarkable 6 South Polar Skuas (3), as well as a noteworthy Audubon’s Shearwater. In the western part of the state, a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was found in Niagara.

Good for New Jersey, a Wood Stork was sighted at Cape May.

In North Carolina, a Snowy Plover was found in New Hanover, and a Red-billed Tropicbird (3) was added to the list of pelagic species off Dare this spring.

In Indiana, three Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were seen in Indianapolis.

Michigan had a Eurasian Wigeon in Muskegon.

Excellent so far north and west, a Glossy Ibis was seen in Whitewater Lake, Manitoba.

An Arctic Tern was found in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Nebraska also had a Arctic Tern this week in York, that state’s 6th record.

In Texas, a Slate-throated Redstart (4) was found in a near inaccessible part of Jeff Davis,  and a Green Violetear (3) was photographed visiting a feeder in Travis.

Good birds in New Mexico include a White-eyed Vireo in Santa Fe and an American Golden-Plover in Chaves.

In Nevada, eastern strays include a Palm Warbler in Washoe and a Chestnut-sided Warbler in Nye.

Late season eastern vagrants in California include a Yellow-throated Vireo and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in San Diego.

Oregon had a Kentucky Warbler near Bend and a Hudsonian Godwit in Marion.

A Dickcissel in Yakima, Washington, is that state’s 10th record.

In Alberta, a Snowy Plover near Edmonton was noteworthy.

And in British Columbia, two separate Ferruginous Hawks were found this week, in Knutsford and Kelowna,

Alaska continues to see a number of Asian strays in the Bering Sea, including Siberian Rubythroat (4), Eyebrowed Thrush (3), and Hawfinch (4) on St Paul,  and Tundra Bean-Goose (3) and a Wood Sandpiper on Gambell. Most exciting, however, was a Terek Sandpiper (3) on the mainland in Anchorage.

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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 aba.org/nab>, the richly illustrated journal of ornithological record published by the ABA.

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Source: http://blog.aba.org/2015/06/rare-bird-alert-june-5-2015.html