2021 REPORT OF THE KANSAS BIRD RECORD COMMITTEE

This report summarizes the activities of the Committee for the calendar year 2021. The Committee received 21 reports, recording the occurrence of 19 different birds, of which 18 were evaluated. All reports are archived by the Kansas Bird Records Committee and are available for review upon request.

Submissions are assigned a sequential number in the order in which they are received, with the year of receipt as a prefix. Submissions that are not on the review list, or not considered extraordinary, may not be circulated to the Committee. Birds are listed in phylogenetic order under each of two categories: Records Accepted and Records Not Accepted. Taxonomy and nomenclature follow the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds, 7^th Edition (American Ornithologists’ Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds: The Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, Including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington,

D.C.), updated through the 62nd Supplement (R. T. Chesser, S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, A. W. Kratter, I. J. Lovette, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2021. Sixty-second Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk, Volume 138, 2021, pp. 1 – 18, DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukab037.)

After the English and scientific name, the following, if available, are provided: KBRC record number, the number of individuals seen, with age, sex or plumage notes; date(s) of observation; locality; observer(s), with those documenting the record listed first; supporting physical evidence; and finally, pertinent comments on changes to the species status on the Kansas Ornithological Society (KOS) checklist. Records that were not accepted by the Committee have observer(s) names omitted, with a brief explanation of the rationale behind that decision.

Authors, when citing KBRC records from this report, are encouraged to give credit to the observer(s) associated with the observation along with a full citation of this report.

RECORDS ACCEPTED

Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), 2021-04, one adult male, 31 March 2021, at Lake Scott, Scott County, by Tom Shane and Kathy Carroll, also seen by Sara Shane, John and Linda Zempel, Diane Persons, and Christopher Frick. Documented with photographs. Eleventh state record.

Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula), 2021-12, one adult, 3 – 11 August 2021, at Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area, Linn County, by Malcolm Gold, also seen by many other observers. Documented with photographs and video.

Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), 2021-02, one immature male, 31 January 2021, at a private residence in rural Augusta, Butler County, by Pete Janzen, also seen by Jeremy Birket, Tom Ewert, Kevin Groeneweg, Cheryl Miller, and Mark Nolen. Twelfth state record.

Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris), 2021-15, one unknown age female, 19 – 27 November 2021, at a private residence on the east side of Tuttle Creek Lake, Pottawatomie County, by Doris Burnett and Kathy Carroll and many other observers. Documented with photographs. Fourth state record.

Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), 2021-11, one adult, 14 August 2021, at Marion Reservoir, Marion County, by Lisa Hoffman and seen by many other observers. Documented with photographs. This is the first record of this species in Kansas and will be added to the KOS Check-list.

White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus), 2021-09, one adult, 20 May 2021, in Garden City, Finney County, by Tom Shane, also seen by Marie Osterbuhr, Karl Osterbuhr, and Sara Shane. Documented with photographs. Seventh state record.

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), 2021-13, one sub-adult, 2 November 2021, at Cimarron National Grasslands, Morton County, by Jesse Ellis.

Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), 2021-01, one adult, 7 January 2021, in Minneola, Clark County, by Vernon Tunnell. The bird was seen by many other observers over several weeks being last reported on 6 February 2021. Ninth state record.

Williamson’s Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus), 2021-07, one adult male, 16 – 17 May 2021, at a residence in Dodge City, Ford County, by Stan McMillen, also seen by  Henry Armknecht, Dan Larson, Jeff Calhoun, and Christi McMillen. Documented with photographs. Sixth state record.

Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), 2021-06, one adult, 13 May 2021, at the Boeing Landfill in Wichita, Sedgwick County, by Kevin Groeneweg. Documented with photographs.

Hammond’s Flycatcher (Empidonax hammondii), 2021-19, one adult, 12 May 2021, at Cimarron National Grasslands Cottonwood Picnic area, Morton County, by Kathy Carroll also seen by Terry and Sam Mannell, Diane Persons, Molly Zahn, and Jo-Ann Moore. Documented with photographs. Thirteenth state record.

Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla), 2021-14, one adult, 13 October 2021 to 16 April 2022, at a residence in Garden City, Finney County, by Sara Shane also seen by Tom Shane and many other observers. Documented with photographs, audio and video recording. Second state record.

Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), 2021-05, one adult, 1 April 2021, along the River road between Coolidge and Syracuse, Hamilton County, by Kathy Carroll also seen by Diane Persons. Documented with photographs.

Connecticut Warbler (Oporonis agilis), 2021-10, one adult male, 19 – 20 May 2021, at the Fitch Natural History Reservation, Douglas County, originally found by Mark Robbins and reported by Malcolm Gold, also seen by many other observers. Documented with audio recordings. Thirteenth state record.

Connecticut Warbler (Oporonis agilis), 2021-18, one adult male, 21 May 2021, at a swampy area along York Road, Labette County, by Chad Gardener also seen by Andrew Burnett. Documented with audio recordings. Fourteenth state record.

RECORDS NOT ACCEPTED

Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus), 2021-03, one immature, 28 January 2021, at Clinton Lake, Douglas County. Insufficient details to separate this bird from a Ring-billed Gull

Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus), 2021-08, one adult, 5 May 2021, alongside a road in Rice County. Insufficient details to separate this bird from other raptors.

Couch’s Kingbird (Tyrannis couchii), 2021-19, one of unknown age, 27-30 November 2021, near Lyon State Fishing Lake, Lyon County. Viewed by numerous observers, included many photographs and video. Many of the photos showed outside tail feathers with lateral white edges, which are inconsistent with a Couch’s Kingbird. Vocal recordings are not consistent with expected vocalizations of a Western Kingbird (Tyrannis verticalis). The bill appeared smaller than what a Couch’s Kingbird should have. Based on the physical evidence, and discussions with experienced ornithologists, if was felt that the data presented was inconclusive as to its parentage and could not rule out a hybrid.

Members of the KBRC voting on these records:

Nic Allen (did not vote this round)

Matt Gearheart

Malcolm Gold

Kevin Groeneweg

Cheryl Miller

Chuck Otte (Secretary)

Mike Rader (Alternate)

Max Thompson (Alternate)

Eugene A. Young (Chair)

Submitted by Chuck Otte, KBRC Secretary