Very rare away from an ocean coast, a Laughing Gull was observed in Madison, Wisconsin.

Great Excitement among the birding community ensued with the report of only the second Red-legged Thrush ever found in the United States. This dramatically colored Caribbean songbird was found in Palm Beach, Florida, in the same nature preserve as a rare Bahama Mockingbird. Last week marked an exceptional increase in rare bird sightings, including 8 new state records in addition to 15 more really rare finds continent-wide! Guess where such exciting birds as a Slate-throated Redstart, Black-whiskered Vireo, Ruff, Black-vented Oriole, Little Stint, and Worm-eating Warblers showed up?

NATIONAL RECORD

Second American Record Red-legged Thrush – Palm Beach, Florida

STATE RECORDS

First State Record Black-whiskered Vireo – Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

Third State Record Tundra Bean Goose – near Prineville, Oregon

Third State Record Curve-billed Thrasher – Mitchell, South Dakota

Third State Record Worm-eating Warbler – Rexburg, Idaho

Fourth State Record Glossy Ibis – Moapa Valley, Nevada

Fifth State Record Tufted Duck – Fennville, Michigan

Fifth State Record Hooded Oriole – Denver, Colorado

Sixth State Record Black-vented Oriole – Corpus Christi, Texas

REALLY RARE SIGHTINGS

Slate-throated Redstart – Big Bend National Park, Texas

Bahama Mockingbird – Palm Beach, Florida

Pink-footed Geese – Lumsden, Newfoundland

Ruff – Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin

Little Stint – San Diego, California

Laughing Gull – Madison, Wisconsin

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks – Wheatley, Ontario

Swainson’s Warbler – Cape May, New Jersey

MORE REALLY RARE BIRDS

Black-headed Grosbeak – Morristown, New Jersey

Blue Grosbeak – near Windsor, Vermont

Worm-eating Warbler – Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia

Fish Crow – Estrie, Quebec

Cinnamon Teal – Sombra, Ontario

White-faced Ibis – Amherstburg, Ontario

Snowy Plover – Tofino, British Columbia

A few very exciting rare birds continue to be monitored by area birders, including a Pink-footed Goose in Quebec, the California Thrasher in southern Oregon, a Key West Quail Dove in Florida, and the female Crimson-collared Grosbeak in south Texas. Considering the big increase in rare birds found last week, this week should be exceptional too. Keep alert!

For more information, see the American Birding Association’s Rare Bird Alert at http://blog.aba.org/2019/04/rare-bird-alert-april-26-2019.html 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 information about individual rare bird sightings from the state rare bird alert listserves that you can access at http://birding.aba.org/ or at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/