PORTLAND, OregonKOIN) — Birders are rejoicing over an extremely rare bird sighting that occurred at the Hug Point State Recreation Site on April 21.
Vancouver resident Michael Sanchez told KOIN 6 News he was photographing Hug Point Falls at sunrise when he noticed a small bird near the shore.
“I looked behind me toward the ocean and saw this cute little bird standing on the sand,” Sanchez said. “The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, so to my eyes it looked like a little black bird. He posed for me for a minute or two, then flew off towards the rocks. He stayed there for about a moment longer, then flew off to the east. I didn’t think much more about it than that.
Sanchez didn’t know that he had photographed the first known sighting of a blue thrush in U.S. history.
Returning home to review his photos, Sánchez noticed that this “little black bird” was much more colorful than he thought. This led him to post his photos on social media, where they shocked the local birding world.
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“I noticed the bird wasn’t black at all, but it was a pretty blue and brown bird,” he said. “I posted it on social media for help identifying it and a friend of mine passed it on to one of her birding friends. He let me know that it was an extremely rare bird in this part of the world.
According to experts, the Blue Thrush sighting is the second unofficial sighting in the documented history of North America. Oregon Birding Association member Nolan Clements, who is also a doctoral student in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, told KOIN 6 News that the Blue thrush is native to Europe and Asia and is not known to inhabit any part of Oregon. North America.
“There has only been one report in North America,” Clements said. “In 1997, a person was photographed in British Columbia. However, many birders were skeptical of the origins of this bird, thinking it may have been a caged bird that escaped or was accidentally transported across the Pacific on a cargo ship. Ultimately, the 1997 British Columbia record was expunged.
Bird watchers have flocked to Hug Point in recent days to try to find Sanchez’s blue thrush. However, no further sightings have been reported. Although Sanchez’s sighting is still being reviewed by experts, Clements said the bird seen in the photos is “definitely” a blue thrush.
“The report has not passed the scrutiny of the Oregon Bird Records Committee or the American Birding Association Records Committee, two voting bodies that evaluate natural history records, and is therefore not yet a document official,” Clements said. “I am currently a voting member of the OBRC and I suspect there will be lengthy discussions about this bird, but I suspect ultimately this report will be accepted.”
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Clements said it’s unclear how the bird may have arrived in the United States, but added that a similar species, the red-tailed thrush, was also photographed in northern Alaska in 2021 The Alaska sighting was the first known record of the species in North America.
“It seems possible that the bird hitched a ride on the boat, but that may be unlikely,” he said. “If this bird was in Astoria or Portland, I would say it was much more likely to be assisted by a ship. It’s really hard to be sure with events like this.
Sanchez said he is working with the Oregon Bird Records Committee to provide as much information about the sighting as possible. KOIN 6 will continue to monitor the story for the committee’s final decision on the sighting.
“Now that I know how rare this sighting is, I wish I had taken more photos of it,” he said. “However, I am pleased with the photos I was able to obtain and hope it sparks new interest in the fascinating world of birdwatching.”
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