Hot Birds: April 2021

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 00:20:00 GMT

An Ash-throated Flycatcher photographed in Orleans on December 20 was in an area closed to the public, so very few were able to see it. Rob Timberlake found a bird of the same species more cooperatively located in the Sagamore Recreation Area by the Cape Cod Canal, on January 10. With a Black-headed Gull also being seen there, Sagamore quickly became a very popular birding destination. The flycatcher was last reported January 25. Carol Molander took the photo above.

The state hosted one Tufted Duck for most of the winter, but jumped up to three before it was over. A brief sighting on the east side of Nantucket in early November presaged the long-staying bird’s reappearance in its usual haunts near the island’s western tip roughly a month later. In mid-February, a second duck turned up in Eastham, followed by a third in Plymouth in early March. All three were still being seen at press time. Trish Pastuszak took the photo above.