A First State Record Slate-throated Redstart was photographed by Kaleb Friend and seen by many other lucky birders in San Francisco, California.

Birders fielded a few big surprises last week as a First State Record Slate-throated Redstart was documented in northern California, easily the farthest north the species has ever been sighted. No less impressive was a First State Record Mississippi Kite, a yearling, above Sitka Island in the Aleutians in far west Alaska. A First Provincial Record Sage Thrasher thrilled Canadian birders in Quebec, and there was also an exciting seabird to add to the mix that created the Fourth State Record Red-footed Booby offshore from northwest Washington – and there’s more.

STATE & PROVINCIAL RECORDS

First State Record Slate-throated Redstart – San Francisco, California

First State Record Mississippi Kite – Sitka Island, the Aleutians, Alaska

First Provincial Record Sage Thrasher – Longue-Pointe, Quebec

Fourth State Record Red-footed Booby – offshore Clallam County, Washington

REALLY RARE BIRDS

Short-tailed Albatross – offshore Half Moon Bay, California

Murphy’s Petrel – near Sitka Island, the Aleutians, Alaska

Long-billed Murrelets (2) – near Homer, Alaska

Neotropic Cormorant – York, Ontario

CONTINUING REALLY RARE BIRDS

Steller’s Sea Eagle – Newfoundland

Large-billed Tern – Florida

Yellow-headed Caracaras – California, Florida

American Flamingos – Florida, Texas, Rhode Island

Brown Jays – Texas

Berylline Hummingbird – Arizona

Flame-colored Tanager – Arizona

For more information, you can refer to the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at Rare Bird Alert: August 2. 2024 - American Birding Association (aba.org) Special Thanks to the ABA, and Nate Swick, who does such a great job of compiling the ABA’s Rare Bird Alert, which we use to prepare this weekly replay.

You can often find more info 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