The First Texas State Record Yellow-headed Caracara was documented by many birders over the holidays on the Galveston coast (photo by Kay Zagst).
Two Northern Lapwings were documented by birders over the holiday period, one in coastal Delaware and this individual photographed by Darleen McNeil in southern Rhode Island.
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With Christmas Bird Counts on-going and holiday time off, active birders reported a variety of record sightings recently, starting with the First Provincial Record Wood Sandpiper on Allumette Island, Quebec, which doubles as the Third Canadian Record of a Wood Sandpiper. There were also 3 First State Records, including a Yellow-headed Caracara in Texas, a White Wagtail in Wisconsin, and a Ferruginous Hawk in Massachusetts – an adult dark morph Ferrug. Birders also established 9 more records and documented many other exceptionally rare bird sightings.
CANADIAN RECORD
Third Canadian Record Wood Sandpiper – Allumette Island, Quebec
STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS
First State Record Yellow-headed Caracara – Galveston, Texas
First State Record White Wagtail – Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
First Provincial Record Wood Sandpiper – Allumette Island, Quebec
First State Record Ferruginous Hawk – Monomoy Refuge, Massachusetts
Second State Record Scott’s Oriole – Tallahassee, Florida
Second State Record Spotted Towhee – New London, Connecticut
Third State Record Sharp-tailed Sandpiper – Ocean City, New Jersey
Fourth State Record Red-naped Sapsucker – Fort Jackson, Louisiana
Fifth State Record Northern Lapwing – Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware
Fifth Provincial Record Slaty-backed Gull – Mirabell, Quebec
Fifth Provincial Record Hermit Warbler – Canso, Nova Scotia
Seventh State Record Kelp Gull – near Corpus Christi, Texas
Seventh State Record Wood Thrush – Searose Beach, Oregon
REALLY RARE BIRDS
Swallow-tailed Gull – Bodega Bay, California
Northern Lapwing – Narragansett, Rhode Island
White Wagtail – Kilchis Point Reserve, Oregon
Bananaquit – Key Biscayne, Florida
Arctic Loon – Port Angeles, Washington
Arctic Tern – Harbor Springs, Michigan
Painted Bunting – near Torbrook, Nova Scotia
Summer Tanager – Seattle, Washington
Black-throated Gray Warbler – Columbia, South Carolina
Black-throated Gray Warblers (2) – New London, Connecticut
Townsend’s Warbler – Newport, Rhode Island
Ash-throated Flycatcher – Battle Creek, Michigan
Green-tailed Towhee – Victoria, British Columbia
Golden-crowned Sparrow – near Shannon City, Iowa
Western Meadowlark – Hadley, Massachusetts
Slaty-backed Gull – Muskegon, Michigan
California Gull – Gibraltar, Michigan
CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS
Steller’s Sea Eagle – Newfoundland
Mottled Owl – Texas
American Flamingos – Florida, Texas
Cattle Tyrant – Texas
Brown Jays – Texas
Berylline Hummingbird – Arizona
For more information, you can refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: January 3. 2025 - American Birding Association (aba.org) and Rare Bird Alert: December 20, 2024 - American Birding Association (aba.org) the ABA for 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