PEEPS

PEEPS Has Moved!

The location of our headquarters isn't the only big change that the ABA has made recently, this blog is moving and changing, too!

After four dedicated years of posting ABA rarieties to the PEEPS blog, Bill Maynard is passing the torch to ABA Area rare bird expert John Puschock. You will notice some changes to the format of our rare bird alerts. First, we are dropping the name PEEPS for our Twitter hashtag #ABArare. This will allow us to tie reports into upcoming projects that will be rolled out on our website. Second, you'll notice a more conversational tone to reports. These reports will be a tool to help birders not only locate the specific bird that is sighted, but to offer a wealth of insider tips that will give you a better experience should you decide to go look for the bird.

Things you may see in future reports: 1. Tips on best access points to view the bird. 2. Other nearby birding opportunities. 3. Good places to stay and eat during your visit. 4. Names of ABA volunteers who will act as points of contact, answer questions, and liaise with landowners/managers, birders, and the general public.

Thank you for following this blog and we look forward to seeing you over at the ABA Blog! Please e-mail me at dhartley@aba.org if you have any questions.

Probable Asian Rosy-Finch - Adak Island, Alaska

On 30 December Isaac Helmericks photographed a rosy-finch that may be the first North American record of an Asian Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte arctoa) on Adak Island in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Good photographs of the bird can be viewed here: (combine both lines)

http://adakbirding.com/potential-north-

american-first-asian-rosy-finch-on-adak/

Asian Rosy-Finch has recently been shown by mitochondrial DNA to be closely related to the other three rosy-finches, Black, Brown-capped, and Gray-crowned. Five subspecies of Asian Rosy-Finch are recognized with some migratory, a partial migrant, and/or an altitudinal migrant, most at least moving lower in winter. Their breeding biology is poorly known with only a few nests found.  They breed on barren, treeless montane plateaus, moraines at edges of snowfields and glaciers, rocky slopes, cliffs, shorelines and boulder beaches from Russian Siberia, Russian Far East, Mongolia, northeastern Kazakhstan and northeastern China where they have been found as high as 18,000 feet in northern China.  In winter they move down slope and can be abundant in wintering areas in the Russian Far East and Mongolia.  In winter in Japan they are found mostly on Hokkaido south to central Honshu (Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 15).

La Sagra's Flycatcher - South Florida

On 26 December an ABA Code-3 La Sagra's Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae) was found in a restricted area (NO PUBLIC ACCESS) of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (fee). Luckily the original finder, Robin Diaz, was able to relocate the bird outside the restricted area as it gave its “wheet” calls along the park's nature trail before returning briefly to what has been dubbed the “La Sagra Tree” (intersection of the nature trail and a restroom trail with the “tree”, ~100 yards south of the white gate.  Robin says a (the) La Sagra’s Flycatcher has been in the same vicinity for three consecutive winters showing signs of territorial behavior.

La Sagra's Flycatcher was first reported in the ABA Area in 1963 in Orrville, central Alabama, a bird thought to be of the Cuban race, M. s. sagrae.  Since the first report of this species in the ABA Area, at least 12 records and numerous reports have been recorded, all from South Florida.  The Florida records are of birds thought to be of Bahamian origin, M. s. lucaysiensis (ABA Checklist, Fifth Edition, DeBenetictus et al.).

La Sagra's Flycatcher has been considered at times to be conspecific with Stolid Flycatcher (M. stolidus) but vocal differences showed the two taxa to be separate species, although the dawn song of the nominate race, M. s. stolidus, is similar to the dawn songs of the two races of La Sagra's Flycatcher (Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9). La Sagra Flycatcher is often separated from its congeners by its distinctive forward-leaning posture and flat-headed appearance. Although not considered threatened, the entire range of La Sagra's Flycatcher is the Bahamas, Cuba, and Cayman Islands (Birds of the West Indies, Raffaele et al.).

An excellent treatment with tips on identification of La Sagra’s Flycatcher by Smith and Evered can be found in a 1992 issue of Birding 24:294−296.

Smew - Ontario, Canada

On 26 December Jim Robinson photographed an ABA Code-3 Smew (Mergellus albellus), the other merganser, in Whitby Harbor, Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It was seen from the pier parking lot at Whitby Harbor and across from the Whitby marina, most recently by the breakwall. The bird has not yet been aged but it has a “female” plumage.

This species breeds from Sweden east to eastern Siberia. They winter in western and central Europe, eastern Mediterranean Basin, Black Sea, southern Russia, Middle East, eastern China, Korea and Japan.  During severe winters some are displaced farther south (Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1).  In the ABA Area, they are migrants in the western Aleutian and Pribilof Islands.  In winter, stragglers have been recorded south to California and are accidental on the Niagara River (Ontario-New York), southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and Rhode Island.  They are raised in captivity so provenance has been in question for birds in the east (ABA Checklist, Fifth Edition, DeBenedictis et al.).

Crimson-collared Grosbeak - Mission, Texas

On 23 December David Dauphin reported that he and five others saw and photographed an ABA Code-4 Crimson-collared Grosbeak (Rhodothraupis celaeno) at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Hidalgo County, Texas (closed 12/24 and 12/25).  The distance between this spot and Frontera Audubon property in Weslaco, another recently reported location for this species, is about 27 driving miles (fewer straight line air miles). 

Natural history information about this very cool species can be found in previous PEEPS posts.

Ross's Gull - Northwestern Washington

On 20 December an ABA Code-3 Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) was photographed on Palmer Lake, 6 miles south of the U.S./Canada border in Okanogan County, Washington, by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Jeff Heinlen. If accepted by the Washington Records Committee, this would become  the second state record. The first sighting of this rare gull in Washington was from late November and early December 1994. In a local interview Jeff said “this is like a holiday present for bird watchers."

The first Ross's Gull in temperate North America was at Clover Point in Victoria, British Columbia, in October and November 1966. Heinlen's Ross’s Gull photograph can be viewed at:

www.facebook.com/WashingtonFishWildlife

In addition to its better known northeastern Siberian breeding grounds, Ross’s Gull also breeds in Hudson Bay, Cheyne Islands, Nunavut, and also in west-central and northern Greenland.  Ross’s Gulls from northeastern Siberia follow a predictable post-breeding dispersal, leaving breeding grounds in July through August, moving east to the Chukchi Sea and continuing east in the western Beaufort Sea in late September and early October where they can sometimes be seen in the hundreds at Barrow, Alaska (pers. obs.).  During this time period the population estimate in northern Alaska waters is 20,000−40,000 birds (Gulls of the Americas, Howell and Dunn).  In mid- to late October they return west to the Chukchi Sea and eventually move south in the northwest Bering Sea for the winter.  

Nutting's Flycatcher - Arizona

On 18 December Lauren Harter and David Vander Pluym heard what they thought was an ABA Code-5 Nutting’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus nuttingi) in a riparian area of the Bill Williams River in Arizona but they could not find the bird. On the 19^th the bird responded with aggression to recording of Nutting’s Flycatcher and it was photographed and some sound recordings were obtained by Lauren and David.  For directions to a somewhat difficult viewing location see:

www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/AZNM.html#1324326646

Lauren reports the call that the flycatcher has been giving most often is a clear, rising "reeep", matched by a recording (33 seconds) on xeno-canto.org by Nick Athanas.  Beware of two Ash-throated Flycatchers in the area.

There are only a few confirmed records of Nutting’s Flycatcher in the ABA Area.  The species is mostly a resident from northwestern Mexico south to northwestern Costa Rica.  The few ABA-area  records are from winter, a specimen taken at Roosevelt Lake, Arizona, on 8 January 1952, one photographed with audio recordings from Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona, from 14 December to 21 March 1998, and an audio recording of a bird from Irvine, California, 11 November 200 to 26 March 2001 (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.).   

Laysan Albatross - Point Arena, California

For the 19^thconsecutive winter period, a Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) known locally as Al, returned to the cove (loafing area) at Point Arena in Mendocino County, California.  For those who like viewing seabirds but are prone to seasickness, here is an albatross you can watch from terra firma. Historically, this Laysan Albatross departs the Point Arena area anytime from late February to late March.

Laysan Albatross is a North Pacific species (found most abundantly in eastern Japan waters) breeding primarily on Laysan and Midway Islands (birds return in November) but recently they have been found breeding on islands off of western Mexico and on Bonin Island off of Japan.  From 1955-1964, over 54,000 birds were killed by the U.S. Navy in an attempt to reduce strikes with aircraft.  In very early 1900s, thousands of birds were killed for feathers and eggs in Japan waters until the practice was banned in 1909.  The population has recovered and numbers are now thought to be between 1.2 and 1.4 million individuals.  Fledglings often swim away from nesting islands where sharks have been reported to consume many.  One shark’s stomach contents had 13 Laysan Albatross fledglings in it. Other current dangers to Laysan Albatross include gill netting for fish and the huge concentrations of ocean plastics said to be drifting in the Pacific Ocean from Japan towards western North America (Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1).

Masked Booby - California

On 17 December Robert McNab reported a subadult, ABA Code-3 Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) at the Dana Point Harbor breakwater in Orange County, California.

Like other Sulids, Masked Boobies are highly aerial while hunting and they obtain their food by plunge-diving. As a result, their flight feathers are molted almost continuously to ensure there are no periods when they are incapable of flight.  To insure maximum streamlining they have evolved without brood patches and incubate their eggs with them placed on highly vasculated webs enabling heat transfer to the egg(s).  Binocular vision in Sulids allows them to hunt at greater heights than other seabirds. Unlike some other Sulids that forage communally, Masked Boobies mostly forage alone. Unlike most Sulids that incubate only one egg, Masked Boobies incubate two and if both eggs hatch one chick dies as a result of “sibling murder”.   The second egg has been described as an insurance policy with the result being a single chick like other booby species.

Masked is the largest booby enabling them to feed on larger prey items than other boobies. They seek shoal fish with flying fish being taken most often.  They are a pantropical species and adults spend most of their lives near the breeding colonies while juveniles have been reported to disperse great distances Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1).

Crimson-collared Grosbeak - Texas

While participating on the Audubon Sabal Palm Sanctuary Christmas Bird Count on 15 December, Jimmy Paz and David Benn found an ABA Code-4 Crimson-collared Grosbeak (Rhodothraupis celaeno) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley southeast of Brownsville, Texas. This female-type bird was photographed on the 16^th near the visitor center.

Crimson-collared Grosbeak is endemic to northeastern Mexico where it is a range-restricted species. It occurs from sea level to about 3800 feet from central Nuevo León south to northern Veracruz state.  In its natural range, Crimson-collared Grosbeak is found in second growth woodlands and in semiarid brushy woodlands and edge (Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Howell and Webb).  Most reports from the ABA Area are of single birds and all but one has been reported from late fall and winter months. In the winter of 2004−2005, 9 birds were reported in South Texas, four of them from Weslaco, Texas (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.).