The First State Record of an Amur Stonechat was documented at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas (photo by David Sarkozi).

A fantastic sighting of an Asian songbird in south Texas, an Amur Stonechat created a buzz across the birding world, although there have been some problems related to accessing the rare bird that continues to be seen in a restricted area of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. With the Amur Stonechat creating a First State Record in Texas, 3 other record birds were documented last week, including a Second State Record Pygmy Nuthatch in Minnesota, a Fourth State Record Green-tailed Towhee in Connecticut, and a Ninth State Record Crested Caracara in Colorado – and there are more exciting rare birds to report:

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record Amur Stonechat – Anahuac Refuge, Texas

Second State Record Pygmy Nuthatch – St. Paul, Minnesota

Fourth State Record Green-tailed Towhee – Mystic, Connecticut

Ninth State Record Crested Caracara – remote Beulah Valley, Colorado

REALLY RARE BIRDS

Vermilion Flycatcher – Santee State Park, South Carolina

Townsend’s Warbler – Charlotte, North Carolina

Spotted Towhee – Lavaltrie, Quebec

Great-tailed Grackle – Chemainus, British Columbia

CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS

Yellow Grosbeak – Arkansas

Yellow-headed Caracara – Florida

Mottled Owl – Texas

American Flamingos – Florida

Northern Lapwing – Rhode Island

Berylline Hummingbirds – Arizona, Texas

Cattle Tyrant – Texas

Brown Jays – Texas

For more information, you can refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: March 14, 2025 - American Birding Association (aba.org) permitting us to use the ABA’s Rare Bird Alert to prepare this weekly replay.

You can often find more information about individual rare bird sightings from the ABA state rare bird alert listserves that you can access at Birding News brought to you by American Birding Association - (aba.org) or at ABA Rare Bird Alert | Facebook