Rare Bird Alert: January 22, 2016

While January 2016 has provided some exciting records of bird vagrancy, the story of the first part of the year has to be the incredible staying power of a number of very notable species in the ABA Area. In fact, as this week was relatively slow by new bird standards, the continuing birds certainly take top billing.

Notables remaining in the in the ABA Area into this week include both the Siberian Accentor (4) and the Redwing (4) in British Columbia, the Ivory Gull (3) in Minnesota, the Western Spindalis (3) in Florida, the Ohio Brambling (3), a fous-some of amazing birds in Texas including Flame-colored Tanager (4), Golden-crowned Warbler (4), Northern Jacana (4) and Crimson-collared Grosbeak (4), and both Streak-backed Oriole (4) and Sinaloa Wren (5) in Arizona.

We had one 1st record this week, and unsurprisingly it’s a western flycatcher in the east. A Couch’s Kingbird in Jackson, Mississippi, is a first for that state. It was well-documented, with photographs and recordings made. Unfortunately the site is not accessible to the public at the time, and the bird was found by birders doing surveys along the coast. Interestingly, Mississippi’s 2nd record of Tropical Kingbird is still around, not more than about 60 miles east.

Texas keeps on supplying great birds, the latest being a Rose-throated Becard (3) in Hidalgo.

In Arizona, a Le Conte’s Sparrow is an excellent find in Cochise.

A Brambling (3) was found on mainland Alaska, in Homer.

Wisconsin’s 5th record of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch was noteworthy in Clark.

In Quebec, a Harris’s Sparrow is present in Lanaudière.

Prince Edward Island had a Yellow-headed Blackbird at Belle River.

A Mew Gull in Knox, Maine, is the state’s 7th, and is all the more notable for being of the western North American brachyrynchus subspecies.

And in Massachusetts, a well-photographed Smith’s Longspur in Saugus is the state’s 3rd.

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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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