Rare Bird Alert: June 22, 2012

June gets a bad rap as far as birding months. Sure the exhilirating rush of spring migration is mostly over, and the exhausting marathon of fall still to come, but so long as there are birds to see, there are good birds to be found.  Some birders in Florida have even taken on the June Challenge, an attempt to see as many species as possible in the oft-forsaken month of June.  With that spirit in mind, go find some exciting summer birds!

Locations in italics refer to counties/parishes/boroughs.

Two first state records highlight this week's tour of the birding world.  Georgia's first Inca Dove, seen at left, was discovered in Worth, in the southern part of the state.  The bird is still being seen by scads of delighted Georgia birders as of the publication of this post.

Seen by far fewer was New York's first Fea's Petrel  (ABA Code 3) well-photographed from a fishing boat out of Montauk, Suffolk. 

The Bar-tailed Godwit seen last week on a private island in Massachusetts, or perhaps a different individual, was seen this week on the public South Beach, Chatham.

Good for Quebec was a Roseate Tern at Îles-de-la-Madeleine this week.

In Wisconsin, a Fork-tailed Flycatcher (3) in Kanauwee, the state's 4th, was a one-day wonder.  Also in the state, a White-winged Dove, nearly annual anymore, was reported from Door.

A White-winged Dove was also found this week in Minnesota, in Itasca.

Definitely unusual for the high summer was a Little Gull (3) in Kidder, North Dakota.

A half-dozen Fulvous-Whistling-Ducks, the first in several years, were reported in Fremont, Iowa.

Missouri's first Western Wood-Pewee continues in Jackson.

A White-faced Ibis was discovered in Mobile, Alabama.

Texas had a Fork-tailed Flycatcher (3) in Carson, and the two (possible) first state records in the Tropical Mockingbird (no code) in Jefferson, and a Black-tailed Godwit (3) in Brazoria both continue.

With no more than two dozen records for the state, a Scarlet Tanager in Santa Cruz, Arizona, is a very good bird.

In California, both an Indigo Bunting in Santa Barbara and a Curlew Sandpiper (3) in San Diego are notable.

Idaho's second ever Red-headed Woodpecker, a stunning adult, has been present in Blaine for over a week.

A Northern Parula in Kinnewick is a good bird for Washington.

In Alaska, a Providence Petrel (not yet on the ABA list but with recent reports accepted by the Alaska BRC) was reported from shore in Barrow by none other that ABA Events coordinator George Armistead.  Also, a Least Flycatcher has been seen well this week at a park in Anchorage. 

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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.