The list below is a compilation of rare bird records in Alberta. Note that only full species currently identified on the Alberta Bird Record Committee's (ABRC) Review List with fewer than 16 accepted provincial records are included.
To date, the following sources have been consulted:
Records that are included in the eBird database but have not yet been adjudicated by the ABRC and published in a report are coloured green. Documentation for many of these is currently under review by the ABRC.
The numbers of records of species is indicated beside species' names in square brackets.
For an explanation of the codes assigned to records by the ABRC, see this document.
Should you notice any errors or have questions or concerns, please email me at ds1908@live.ca. If you have observed a bird that is on the ABRC's Review List but is not listed below (and has not been adjudicated by the ABRC), please complete and submit this online form!
Compiled by David Scott. Last updated December 9, 2024.
Tundra Bean-Goose (Anser serrirostris) [1+1]
Garganey (Spatula querquedula) [6+1]
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) [2+1]
King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) [3]
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) [5]
Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) [1]
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) [11+2]
Lynnwood, Calgary; 23 November 2022. (eBird)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) [7]
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) [1]
Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) [3+many]
White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) [3]
Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus) [1]
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) [14+11+]
Costa's Hummingbird (Calypte costae) [4]
Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) [1]
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) [1]
Common Crane (Grus grus) [5]
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) [4+2]
Siberian Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus) [1]
Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) [6+2]
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) [1]
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) [2]
Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana) [10+2]
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) [1]
Surfbird (Calidris virgata) [1]
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) [9+10]
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) [3]
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) [2]
Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) [2]
Along Range Road 265 between Township Roads 314 and 320, S of Torrington; 18-19 September 2020; written report with 1 image (Rick Urbat and Maureen Hills-Urbat). Other images on eBird. (Code 1; Fourteenth Report of the ABRC)
Little Stint (Calidris minuta) [2]
Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) [2]
Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix) [2]
Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle) [1]
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) [6+2]
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) [12+3]
Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) [10+5]
Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) [4+1]
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) [1]
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) [1]
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) [4+1]
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) [15+many]
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus) [6]
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) [2]
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) [2]
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) [4+1]
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) [1]
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) [13+2]
Western Cattle-Egret (Bubulcus ibis) [15+6]
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) [2+2]
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) [2]
Barn Owl (Tyto alba) [12]
Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) [2]
Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) [5+1]
Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) [5+2]
Williamson's Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) [1+1]
Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) [9+1]
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) [1]
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) [6+1]
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) [4]
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) [1+1]
Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii) [2]
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) [1]
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) [13+1]
Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) [1]
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) [2]
Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) [3+1]
Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) [1+1]
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) [14+many]
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) [1+2]
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) [5]
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) [1]
Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) [1]
Bendire's Thrasher (Toxostoma bendirei) [1]
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) [8+1]
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) [2]
Siberian Accentor (Prunella montanella) [1]
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) [1+1]
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis) [1]
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) [5+4]
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) [7+2]
Cassin's Sparrow (Peucaea cassinii) [1]
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) [2+1]
Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) [6]
Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis) [2]
Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) [8]
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) [6]
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) [1]
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) [2+2]
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) [2]
Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) [3]
Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) [3]
Prothonotary Warbler (Prothonotaria citrea) [2]
Lucy's Warbler (Leiothlypis luciae) [2]
Kentucky Warbler (Geothlypis formosa) [2]
Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) [9]
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) [10+10]
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) [8+1]
Yellow-throated Warbler (Dendroica dominica) [2+2]
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) [2+2]
Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis) [1]
Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) [9+2]
Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) [2+1]
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) [2]
Dickcissel (Spiza americana) [9+1]
Many sources referenced in the records above are not included in the following list; however, full citation information or hyperlinks to those sources can be found in the following, at least one of which is cited for each record (apart from some references to serial publications such as Blue Jay, American Birds, PICA, and The Canadian Field-Naturalist, where sufficient information is provided in the references above). The items below are listed chronologically.