It was a slower week to be sure, but Texas takes its accustomed place as the center of the ABA rarity world with a couple of notable finds this week. the most accommodating of which is an ABA Code 4 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, still being seen daily (if not regularly during the day) at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Hidalgo. It’s the first Gray-crowned Yellowthroat in the ABA Area in more than 8 years.
Photo by Chris Benesh, used with permission
Elsewhere in the valley, a male Blue Bunting (4) was discovered, but not yet refound, at Laguna Atascosa NWR in Cameron.
In Oklahoma, a pair of Yellow-billed Loons, along with 2 Pacific Loons, were seen in Cherokee.
Colorado continues to live up to its reputation as the gull capital of the mountain west with a Glaucous-winged Gull in Arapahoe.
Arizona also had a Glaucous-winged Gull this week, one in Mohave is the state’s 8th. And a pair of Trumpeter Swans were found in Pima, particularly rare in the south of the state.
In Utah, the state’s 2nd record of Purple Finch, one of the darker pacific coast population, has been visiting a feeder in Washington. In the same county, a Red-throated Loon was also noteworthy.
Another Black-headed Gull (3) was found in Oregon, this time in Clatsop. Assuming this is not the same bird found a couple weeks farther east, this would be the state’s 6th.
In Idaho, a Glaucous Gull in Canyon is a great find.
A Ferruginous Hawk in Gibson, Indiana, is likely the same bird returning for its third consecutive winter.
In New Hampshire, a photogenic Gyrfalcon was seen by many in Rockingham.
New York saw a spate of good birds this week, including a Barrow’s Goldeneye in Oswego, what may be the state’s 2nd in as many weeks Crested Caracara, photographed in Nassau, and a Western Tanager in Suffolk.
Trumpeter Swans continue to be more regular in the southeast as the interior population grows. One was in Prince Edward, Virginia, this week.
And in Florida, a nice Bullock’s Oriole was visiting a feeder in Osceola.
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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.