Three Mew Gulls which appeared in the state less than a week apart turned out to have come from two very different origins. A bird on Nantucket, found by Jeremiah Trimble, was identified the Kamchatka subspecies. Suzanne Sullivan spotted one in Lynn which appeared to be the European subspecies, later noticed to have been banded, and confirmed to have been seen last year in the same area, and originally banded in Iceland! After that, a second, unbanded Mew was found in the Lynn area, and identified as another Kamchatka, with some discussion suggesting that it was an individual which had been seen in the area in previous winters for possibly over a decade. Sean Williams took the photo above.
Scattered reports of Pacific Loon have been coming in all winter, but the most cooperative have been at Race Point. Starting with a December 24 sighting by Peter Flood, up to three individuals have been photographed on several occasions since. One or more have also been reported intermittently from Rockport and Salisbury in late January and February. Steve Arena took the photograph above.
Glenn d’Entremont found a Pink-footed Goose in the Bristol Aggie athletic fields on January 28. It was seen in that area through February 1; what may have been the same individual was spotted in nearby Swansea by Liam Waters on February 21. Jonathan Eckerson took the photo above.
One of the most long-staying vagrant birds of the winter, a Townsend’s Solitaire, originally detected on November 12 at Demarest Lloyd State Park by Glenn d’Entremont, continued to be seen and photographed there through February 13. Jeff Offerman took the photo above.
Jeremiah Trimble found a third-year Slaty-backed Gull at Fresh Pond on February 16. A few days later, what was apparently the same bird was detected in Gloucester by Sean Williams! The bird was found only for one day in each location; is it still a one-day wonder if it is found for one day each in two different places? Sean took the photo above.