'Mega-rare' bird spotted in Oregon, first reported sighting in US history

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Birders are crowing over an extremely rare bird sighting in Oregon last week.

Photographer and Vancouver resident Michael Sanchez told Nexstar's KOIN that he was at Hug Point State Recreation Site on April 21 at sunrise when he noticed a little bird near the shoreline.

“I happened to look behind me toward the ocean and saw this cute little bird standing on the sand,” Sanchez said. “The sun wasn’t fully up yet, so to my eyes, it looked like a little black bird. It posed for me for a minute or two, and then it flew up to the rocks. It stayed there for another moment or so, and then it flew away toward the east. I didn’t think much more of it than that.”

Sanchez was unaware that he had photographed what appears to be the first known blue rock thrush sighting in U.S. history. 

Returning home to review his pictures, Sanchez noticed that that “little black bird” was much more colorful than he realized. This led him to post his photos (seen below) on social media, where they shocked the local birding world.

“I noticed the bird wasn’t black at all, but it was a pretty blue and chestnut-colored bird,” he said. “I posted it on social media for some help identifying it and a friend of mine passed it along to one of her birding friends. He let me know that this was an extremely rare bird in this part of the world.”

According to experts, the blue rock thrush sighting is the second unofficial sighting in the documented history of North America. Oregon Birding Association member Nolan Clements, who is also a Ph.D. student with Oregon State University’s Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, told KOIN the blue rock thrush is native to Europe and Asia and is not known to inhabit any part of North America.

“There has been only one report ever in North America,” Clements said. “In 1997, one was photographed in British Columbia. However, many birders were skeptical of the origins of this bird, thinking it may have been an escaped caged bird or perhaps accidentally transported across the Pacific on a cargo ship. Ultimately, the 1997 BC record was written off.”

Birders have flocked to Hug Point in recent days in an attempt to find Sanchez’s blue rock thrush. However, no other sightings have been reported. While Sanchez’s sighting is still under review by experts, Clements said that the bird seen in the photos is “definitely” a blue rock thrush.

“The report has not passed the scrutiny of the Oregon Bird Records Committee or the American Birding Association Records Committee, both voting bodies that adjudicate natural history records, and so is not an official record yet,” Clements said. “I am currently a voting member of the OBRC and I suspect there will be lengthy discussions about this bird, but my guess is that ultimately this report will be accepted.”

Clements said that it’s unclear how the bird may have arrived in the U.S., but added that a similar species, the rufous-tailed rock 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 ship, but it may be unlikely,” he said. “If this bird were in Astoria or Portland, I'd say it was much more likely to be ship-assisted. It's really hard to know for sure with occurrences like this.”

Sanchez said that he’s working with the Oregon Bird Records Committee to provide as much info about the sighting as possible. KOIN will continue to monitor the story for the committee’s final ruling on the sighting. 

The American Birding Association reports that a few days after Sanchez's sighting, researchers on Southeast Farallon Island in San Francisco photographed what appears to be a blue rock thrush. It's unclear if that bird, found roughly 500 miles from Hug Point is the same one spotted by Sanchez.

“Now that I know just how rare of a sighting this is, I wish I would have captured more pictures of it,” he said. “However, I’m happy with the photos that I was able to get, and I hope this brings new interest in the fascinating world of birdwatching.”