Rare Bird Alert: August 10, 2012

The big dome of heat that had dominated the Great Plains, the Great Lakes and the eastern part of southern Canada was pushed out yesterday by an unseasonal "Alberta clipper", bringing late-September temps with it. The heat is now pushed to the west, with red-flag warnings over much of Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada, and excessive warnings in much of the rest of the west. Fall migration appears to have begun, with shorebirds and a few warblers showing up in the Great Lakes and Great Plains.

The only code 4 or higher species in the roster this week is a Little Egret that was found at Scarborough Marsh in the same location as a bird that appeared last year.

Illinois had a state-first Wandering Tattler on Thursday.

An American Avocet at Lamaline, Nova Scotia is a great bird for that part of Canada, as is the White-winged Dove found at Gaspésie, Quebec.

In Pennsylvania, two Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that have been in Lancaster County were confirmed as escapees from a local breeder, but to make up for that, a juvenile White Ibis decided to visit York County on Thursday.

Ohio had some goodies this week, with a Lark Bunting in Paulding County, and Swallow-tailed Kite in Holmes County.

Tennessee has been having a mini-invasion of Swallow-tailed Kites, including one this week in Bledsoe County. 

Illinois also had a Swallow tailed Kite this week in Champaign County.

Increasingly encountered, but still a good bird in Alabama was an Inca Dove in Baldwin County.

In the southwest, a Louisiana Waterthrush was in Roosevelt County New Mexico this week, and a Brown Pelican was discovered by the Camp Chiricahua group in Santa Cruz, Arizona.

In Washington, a Curlew Sandpiper (3) was found in Snohomish County.

 

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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.  Place names written in italics refer to counties/parishes/districts.