Fifi Gifford photographed an American Flamingo in Dennis, on Cape Cod, June 2. It left the area, but returned June 15 and was more cooperative, allowing several birders to see it. It reappeared in Dennis and Yarmouthport on July 15 but has not been seen again as of press time. Birders on Long Island, New York, have reported what seems to be the same individual several times this summer. This bird seems likely to become our first accepted state record. A flamingo in Natick in 1965 was determined by MARC to be an escapee from captivity, and a 1964 record from Plum Island was considered a probable escapee as well. Mary Jo Foti took the photo.
Dave Adrien came upon a flock of seven Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks beside the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Amherst on June 24. Although the eastern part of the state has had many records, this appears to be only the fourth west of the Quabbin Reservoir, the second for Hampshire County. The flock disappeared the next day; multiple reports of “juvenile” whistling-ducks from subsequent days turned out to be misidentifications of other duck species. James Teitgen took the photo.
The South Shore Bird Club was conducting its annual breeding bird survey of Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area on June 29, when members found an Anhinga. This bird is the first to be seen on the ground in the state and documented. Every prior report has been of a bird soaring high overhead, none of them photographed, and only two were accepted by the MARC. Jason Forbes took the photo.
In Massachusetts, most Brown Booby sightings involve birds flying offshore, but Laura Markley spotted one roosting near Carson Beach in Boston on July 12. It remained in that area through at least July 15. It was preceded by a more typical Massachusetts encounter, a fly-by Brown Booby at Race Point on July 6. Laura Markley took the photo.