Front End - American Birding Association Members

SightingS
October 2013 sightings,
available online to
ABA members only,
have been posted to the
ABA website: aba.org/birding
September 1–30, 2013
Amy Davis • Downingtown, Pennsylvania • adavis@aba.org
“Sightings” appears monthly, alternating between Birding and Birding Online <aba.org/birding>, with the latest news from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Sightings are compiled from Birding News <birding.aba.org>, eBird <ebird.org>, and other online resources, with valuable contributions from a network of local
experts. Readers should note that few of these reports have yet been vetted by a records committee. All birders are urged to submit documentation of rare
sightings to the appropriate state or provincial committees and eBird. For full analysis of these and other bird observations, subscribe to North American Birds
<aba.org/nab>, the ABA’s richly illustrated online journal of ornithological record. In this compilation, italicized place names denote counties or parishes.
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Paul Lehman for his assistance in the preparation of this compilation.
Summary: Exciting potential 1sts for Canada reported this
period were a Cuculus cuckoo photographed at Lourdesde-Blanc-Sablon, QC, and a Brown-chested Martin welldescribed at Stoney Creek, ON. Sinaloa Wrens in Huachuca Canyon and Tubac represented the 3rd and 4th ABA Area
records of the species, all from AZ. The Blue-footed Booby
invasion that began in AZ and NM last month continued
and brought BC its 1st record of the species. A fantastic period in AK was topped by the ABA Area’s 2nd or 3rd Siberian [Common] Chiffchaff, as well as Asian Brown Flycatcher, Lanceolated Warbler, and Middendorff’s
Grasshopper-Warbler. A shutdown of the U.S. federal gov-
Cuculus sp. Lourdes-de-BlancSablon, Québec; 29 September
2013. Photo by © Judith Roger.
ernment closed national
parks and wildlife refuges,
and furloughed most U.S.
Geological Survey and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
workers, bringing important conservation efforts to
a temporary halt. Potential
state and provincial 1sts
not mentioned above included Brown Booby (OK),
Dovekie (BC), Tropical
Kingbird (GA), Hammond’s
Flycatcher (NS), and Lazuli
Bunting (NL).
Northeast: A Ross’s Goose
was found in Aroostook, ME
9/29–30. A pair of Cinnamon Teal was at Sherose I., NS
9/21. NL’s 2nd Brown Booby was photographed well offshore
on the n. Grand Banks 9/4; another was reported from
Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA 9/17. In NL, single Glossy Ibises appeared at Whitbourne 9/2 and St. John’s; the latter bird
was reportedly present through the 2nd half of September. A
Purple Gallinule was at Peabody, MA 9/16–22. QC’s 4th
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was at Baie-du-Febvre 9/24–29. A
Mew Gull at Harbor I., Muscongus Bay, ME 9/24 may have
been the same individual discovered in Thomaston in Aug. A
Sandwich Tern was at Les Escoumins, QC 9/29.
Hammond’s Flycatcher. Bon Portage Island, Nova
Scotia; 14 September 2013. Photo by © David Bell.
20
BIRDING • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
A Cuculus cuckoo (Common or Oriental) photographed at Lourdes-deBlanc-Sablon, QC 9/29 represented a 1st
both for the province and for Canada. A
Rufous Hummingbird reached Strafford,
NH, where it was present 9/22–24. NS’s
1st Hammond’s Flycatcher was banded at Bon Portage I. 9/14. NL hosted a
Yellow-throated Vireo at Renews 9/21–
25 and a Prothonotary Warbler at
Trepassey 9/8. Northern Wheatears were
noteworthy in QC at Rimouski 9/2–3, White-tailed Kite. Adams County, Wisconsin; 28 September 2013.
Photo by © Dave Freriks.
Sainte-Luce 9/14, and Saint-Antoine-deTilly 9/30, and another was in ME on Pleasant I. in PenobSoutheast: KY’s 7th Roseate Spoonbill appeared in Shelby
scot Bay 9/28. A Henslow’s Sparrow was reported from
9/4–9. A Snowy Plover was in Onslow, NC 9/3, and a HudBeach Point, Kings, PE 9/15. NL’s 1st Lazuli Bunting was an
sonian Godwit was in Yazoo, MS 9/21. A Bar-tailed Godadult male photographed at
wit continued at Chincoteague NWR
Corner Brook 9/10, and a
in VA through 9/21, and another was
subadult at Cuttyhunk I., MA
reported from Fred Howard Park in
9/15 was the state’s 4th.
Pinellas, FL 9/18. A Sabine’s Gull was
in Marshall, KY 9/18–19. A Say’s
East-Central: A Crested CaraPhoebe was at Chincoteague NWR,
cara turned up in Sussex, DE
VA 9/25. A Tropical Kingbird at the
9/9; the state’s 1st was discovState Botanical Garden of Georgia in
ered there in March. Say’s
Athens 9/30 was the state’s 1st. A Bell’s
Phoebes were at Cape May, NJ
Vireo was at Kiawah I., SC 9/28–29,
9/3 and Robert Moses SP, Suf- Townsend’s Shearwater. Off Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca;
and a White Wagtail on Cedar I.,
folk, NY 9/18. A Bell’s Vireo was 20 September 2013. Photo by © Josh Beck.
Carteret, NC 9/15 was the state’s 3rd.
in Queens, NY 9/16–17. An exceptionally early Bohemian
Waxwing was tallied at PA’s Hawk Mountain Sanctuary 9/2,
North-Central: A wandering Northern Gannet made sevand a Black-throated Gray Warbler was in Warren, NJ 9/27.
eral appearances around L. Ontario in ON at Hamilton 9/1,
Toronto 9/10, and Prince Edward 9/14. A Brown Pelican continued on L. Erie, and was seen in ON at Wheatley Harbour
Tropical Kingbird.
9/25 and Point Pelee 9/29. A pair of Roseate Spoonbills
State Botanical Garden
turned up in Alexander, IL 9/4. WI’s 5th White-tailed Kite
of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia; 30 September
was found near Leola Marsh Wildlife Area in Adams 9/29–
2013. Photo by
30. A Ruff was at Emiquon NWR in IL 9/14. A Little Gull
© John Whigham.
was at Webster Res., Rooks, KS 9/17. A Laughing Gull in
Lancaster, NE was the 2nd reported from the state this year.
Elsewhere in NE, a Parasitic Jaeger was in Dawes 9/2, and an
apparent Long-tailed Jaeger turned up in Lancaster 9/11. An
Arctic Tern was photographed over Superior, WI 9/28. A
Least Tern at Point Pelee 9/20 was ON’s 6th.
Anna’s Hummingbirds continued in SD at Sturgis
and Rapid City through 9/22 and 9/18,
respectively, and a Costa’s
ABA.ORG/BIRDING
21
SIGHTINGS
Hurricane Ingrid. A Townsend’s Shearwater was photographed off Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca 9/20; this species, designated as critically endangered by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature, was last known to breed only
on Isla Socorro in the Revillagigedo I. off Colima, where
fewer than 100 breeding pairs were tallied in a 2008 survey.
Upland Sandpipers were observed at the biosphere reserve
in El Triunfo, Chiapas 9/23, and several more reports of the
species came from Morelia, Michoacán.
Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler. St. Paul Island, Alaska;
16 September 2013. Photo by © Doug Gochfeld.
Hummingbird came to feeders near Ogalalla, NE 9/7+. A
White-winged Dove was observed at Whitefish Pt. Bird Observatory in MI 9/1. A Gray Flycatcher was at Cimarron Nat’l
Grasslands in Morton, KS 9/21. Say’s Phoebes were in Clinton, MO 9/14 and DuPage, IL 9/23–25. A Great Kiskadee at
MacPherson State Fishing L. 9/15–30 was KS’s 2nd. A compelling report of a Brown-chested Martin came from Stoney
Creek, ON 9/9, where it would represent a 1st for the
province and for Canada if accepted. A Varied Thrush was
far off course at Taloyoak, NU.
South-Central: A pelagic birding trip out of S. Padre I., TX
produced 3 Cory’s and 1 Audubon’s shearwaters, as well as
a Masked Booby. A Brown Booby photographed at Longmire L. in Garvin 9/14 or 15 was OK’s 1st; another found
near Hughes, AR 9/6–7 was the 4th record of the species
from the state in 2 years. A Ruff was found in Jefferson Davis,
LA 9/22–23. In TX, a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher was at Port
Aransas 9/29, and a Crescent-chested Warbler was at Big
Bend NP 9/24. Also in TX, a Grace’s Warbler was photographed in Port Aransas 9/23, far e. of the species’ usual
range in the state. A Townsend’s Warbler was at Peveto
Woods Sanctuary in Cameron, LA 9/23.
Mexico: A moribund Band-rumped Storm-Petrel was
found at Escobedo, Monterrey, Nuevo León 9/19 following
22
Interior West: In AZ, a Brown Booby continued on L.
Havasu through 9/21. A Neotropic Cormorant continued at
Las Vegas, NV, and a Roseate Spoonbill was found on a small
pond in se. Tucscon, AZ 9/9. One or more Mississippi Kites
were seen over Cheyenne, WY for about a week in the
month’s first week. A Sharp-tailed Sandpiper found near
Phoenix 9/28 was the 4th for AZ. A Little Gull was notable
at Langdon Res. in AB 9/24, and another at Hutton Lakes
NWR 9/28–30 was WY’s 2nd. An Elegant Tern was at Morgan L, San Juan, NM 9/23. A Plain-capped Starthroat continued in Carr Canyon, AZ 9/1–9/14, and another was at
the Patons’ feeders in Patagonia 9/24–26. Other notable
trochilids in the region included a Ruby-throated Hummingbird near Clovis, NM 9/27, and 2 Anna’s Hummingbirds in AB—1 in Crossfield 9/20–30 and another in Calgary 9/25–30.
Philadelphia Vireos turned up in NM in Roosevelt 9/20 and
Eddy 9/22. A Sinaloa Wren was well-documented at
Huachuca Canyon, AZ 9/2–16, and, amazingly, a 2nd individual was found along the Anza Trail in Tubac, Santa Cruz,
AZ 9/11–21; these 2 birds represented the 3rd and 4th ABA
Area records of this w. Mexican endemic, which has been
experiencing a northward range expansion. A Goldenwinged Warbler was in Roosevelt, NM 9/16, and a Swainson’s
Sinaloa Wren. Santa Cruz River, Tubac, Arizona; 18 September 2013.
Photo by © Gary Rosenberg.
BIRDING • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
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Warbler was photographed in Adams,
CO 9/7. A Tennessee Warbler was seen
along the Anza Trail in Tubac, AZ 9/12–
14. Idaho Bird Observatory banded the
state’s 2nd Cape May Warbler on
Lucky Peak above Boise 9/11. At least 4
and perhaps as many as 6 Rufouscapped Warblers were present in upper Hunter Canyon in the Huachuca
Mtns. of se. AZ 9/3–18. A Painted
Bunting was at McCarran Ranch Preserve near Reno, NV 9/13–15.
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Alaska: A Baikal Teal lingered at
Gambell, St. Lawrence I., through 9/2;
it was the 1st for the island. Little and
Temminck’s stints were on Adak I. in
the far w. Aleutians 9/10–11 and 9/13,
respectively. St. Paul I. in the Pribilofs
hosted a flyby Pacific [formerly Forktailed] Swift 9/19. A Siberian [Common] Chiffchaff was at Gambell 9/22–
23. Only 1 previous well-documented
record (Gambell, June 2012) exists
from the ABA Area, although a 2011
record of an unusual Phylloscopus warbler likely also pertains to this taxon. A
Yellow-browed Warbler was at Gambell 9/8–10, where it was the 4th for
that locale and the 8th for the state, all
since 1999. A Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler was on St. Paul I.
9/16. A Lanceolated Warbler at Gambell 9/24 was the 1st AK record away
from the w. Aleutians and the 1st fall
record, other than the breeding birds
lingering through August on Buldir I.
in 2007.
St. Paul I. hosted a Gray-streaked
Flycatcher 9/19–22 and an Asian
Brown Flycatcher 9/6, the latter representing a 1st for the Pribilofs and 1
of just a few ABA Area records of the
species. Gambell hosted a Red-flanked
Bluetail 9/23. A Siberian Stonechat at
Gambell 9/10 was that site’s 4th or 5th
fall record; another individual, at Carr
Gottstein Park in Anchorage 9/24, rep-
ABA.ORG/BIRDING
23
SIGHTINGS
Red-legged
Kittiwake.
Off Clatsop
County, Oregon;
24 September
2013. Photo
by © Owen
Schmidt.
resented a rare mainland record of the species. An Eyebrowed Thrush was at St. Paul I. 9/22. A Northern Mockingbird was found by research biologists at Middleton I. in
the Gulf of Alaska 8/30–31. Gambell hosted 2 Siberian Accentors 9/8; 1 continued the following day, and a 3rd was
there 9/26. Olive-backed Pipits turned up at St. Paul I. 9/29
and Middleton I. 9/26, the latter far e. of where strays of
this species are usually found, and Gambell hosted a Pechora Pipit 9/20. A Common Rosefinch was at St. Paul I.
9/21–22.
Pacific Coast: An Arctic Loon continued in Los Angeles, CA
through 9/21. No fewer than 3 Laysan Albatrosses were seen
off Tofino, BC 9/11. A Hawaiian Petrel was seen s. of Cortez
Bank in Los Angeles, CA waters 9/5. A total of 3 Great
Shearwaters was seen in the Hecate Strait off BC 9/5–6,
and others were observed off San Francisco, CA 9/7 and off
Douglas, OR 9/14, the latter representing OR’s 2nd. In CA,
a Masked Booby appeared in both Los Angeles and Orange
waters 9/2. A Blue-footed Booby turned up at Pt. Reyes,
CA 9/11, and in the week that followed, the species was reported from every coastal county in the state from San Diego
to Sonoma; inland reports came from Riverside and Imperial, where over 30 were noted at the Salton Sea. An intrepid
individual reached Telegraph Cove, BC 9/24, representing
the 1st record for BC and Canada. Previous northern
records include a 2002 record from OR and 1930 and 2006
records from WA. A Brown Booby was photographed off
the southern tip of Nootka I., BC 9/4, and another photographed on the L. Washington Ship Canal in Seattle, WA
9/11 was thought to have escaped from a local zoo the previous day; it or another was in Edmonds, WA 9/21.
A Mississippi Kite was seen in Santa Cruz, CA 9/12. A
Lesser Sand-Plover turned up at Ocean Shores, WA 9/1–
2, and another was seen across the bay at Bottle Beach,
Grays Harbor 9/7. An Upland Sandpiper was at Ocean
Shores, WA 9/6–7. In CA, Hudsonian Godwits were in
Napa 9/12–19 and at Edwards Air Force Base in Los Angeles 9/16–18, and another was in Clallam, WA 9/2–4. A Ruff
continued along the Santa Ana R. in Orange, CA through
9/18, and it or another was on the Los Angeles R. in Los Angeles 9/7–8; elsewhere, Quesnel, BC hosted its 3rd of the
year 9/13, and yet another was at Nisqually NWR in WA
9/18. A Red-legged Kittiwake was photographed from a
cruise ship off Clatsop, OR 9/24; of the 8 previous accepted
records for OR, all but 1 pertain to dead or moribund birds.
Continued on page 62
Blue-footed Booby. Telegraph Cove, British Columbia; 24 September 2013. Photo by © Kyle Howard–Stubbs Island Charters.
Siberian [Common] Chiffchaff. Gambell, St. Lawrence Island,
Alaska; 22 September 2013. Photo by © Clarence Irigoo.
24
BIRDING • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
S I G H T I N G S
Continued from page 24
A Dovekie photographed off Campania I. during seabird surveys 8/21
represented a 1st for BC, and the
southernmost record in the ne. Pacific. A Crested Auklet was photographed off Discovery I., BC 9/8.
A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was
seen briefly in Monterey, CA 9/18. In
CA, Yellow-green Vireos appeared in
Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and San Francisco.
Also in CA, Red-throated Pipits were
in Ventura, San Bernardino, and San
Diego, where there was a total of 3. A
Phainopepla was a nice find in Harney, OR 9/18–24. WA’s 2nd Smith’s
Longspur continued at Ocean Shores
through 9/1, and another was found
at Boundary Bay, BC 9/15–17. A
weary Chestnut-sided Warbler landed on a boat well off Ucluelet, BC
9/15, where it was captured, and released on shore. A Canada Warbler
was in Deschutes, OR 9/7. A Painted
Bunting at Neah Bay 9/27 was WA’s
5th. In BC, a Hooded Oriole was seen
in Jordan River 9/22.
Hawaiian Islands: A pelagic trip off
Kaua‘i 9/14 turned up 1 Cook’s and
2 Black-winged petrels. A family
group of 3 ‘Akiapo-la-‘aus was caught
in the same mist net at Hakalau Forest NWR 9/27. Multiple Blue-gray
Noddies were observed 9/20 near
Necker I., where the species breeds.
62
BIRDING • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013