Hot Birds: June 2020

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:00:16 GMT

Evan Dalton, staff member for Manomet Inc., was conducting a regular survey of their property when he encountered a MacGillivray’s Warbler. While the species occurs in Massachusetts fairly regularly in the fall, this was the first record ever in the spring, not just for Massachusetts but for the entire east coast north of Georgia. Sadly, with the property closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only Manomet staff were able to see it. Even they only saw it on the day of its initial discovery, it has not been reported since. Sean Williams took the photo above.

Gloucester resident Kris Nemeroff (her photograph above) noticed a striking and unfamiliar bird under her feeders on May 12. A couple of days later, she managed to photograph it, and posted her photos in a Facebook birding group to see if anyone there recognized it. Her bird turned out to be a Harris’s Sparrow, the first one documented in the state since 2017. It apparently stuck around just to have its picture taken, as she has not seen it again since.

Amherst homeowner Jane Mildred was pleasantly surprised to notice a young male Western Tanager visiting her bird feeders on April 18. She contacted a prominent local birder, who visited to confirm the bird’s identity and document the occurrence. A second bird of the species was found on Nantucket on March 7 and continued there through at least April 5. Scott Surner took the photo above.