Trevor B. Persons
This Bell’s Vireo was on Monhegan Island September 27–28, 2025. Photograph September 28 by Bill Thompson.
The Fifteenth Report of the Maine Bird Records Committee (hereafter ME-BRC or the committee) summarizes 42 reports involving 33 species and one subspecies that were evaluated and decided during 2025. The committee accepted 41 records for an acceptance rate of 98%. Although most reports were recent, the years of occurrences ranged from 1977 to 2025.
No new species were added to the state list, and the total number of documented species remains at 475. The official list of bird species recorded in Maine, our review procedures, and the list of members can be found at the committee’s website.
Records in this report are grouped by species; records accepted and those not accepted are listed within the same species account. Each record provides the location, county (italicized), date(s) of occurrence, names of observers or contributors, and committee record number. Documentation was provided by the observers listed or, in some cases, was obtained from publicly published websites. All reviewed materials and member comments are archived. If known, the names of finders are listed first and separated from other names by a semicolon. Photographic, video, or audio evidence reviewed is denoted by a dagger (†); written notes are denoted by an asterisk (*). As always, the committee strongly encourages written submissions even when there are photographs. Species accounts follow the current taxonomic classification and sequence adopted as of 2025 by the American Ornithological Society.
Species Accounts
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis). Living up to its name, Great Duck Island, Hancock, hosted Maine’s sixth record of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, a single bird found on April 27, 2025 (Bridger Buck†; 2025-002).
Ross’s Goose (Anser rossii). Maine’s thirteenth was a bird at North Yarmouth, Cumberland, May 2–7, 2025 (Michael Boardman; Rob Spiers†, Bill Thompson†; 2025-006).
Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus). Maine’s eighteenth—and ninth from Aroostook County—was an adult bird shot by a novice hunter on their first goose hunt, at Washburn, Aroostook, October 26, 2024 (fide Bill Sheehan; Pat Boyd†; 2024-060).
This Trumpeter Swan in Burlington was presumably from an expanding reintroduced Great Lakes region population. Photograph June 23, 2025, by Sheila Wakefield.
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator). An adult Trumpeter Swan on the Passadumkeag River at Burlington, Penobscot, June 23–24, 2025 (Kim and Ritchie Breault; Sheila Wakefield†; 2025-025), became the state’s third accepted record. Like the other accepted reports from 2011 and 2022—as well as one unreviewed from 2025—this bird was presumed to be a vagrant from expanding reintroduced populations in the Great Lakes region.
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus). Maine’s eighth accepted record—with more than a dozen yet to be reviewed—was an immature bird at Sebasticook Lake, Newport, Penobscot, November 10–25, 2024 (Kyle Lima; Glenn Hodgkins†, Henry Mauer†, Steve Mierzykowski†; 2024-055).
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera). NOT ACCEPTED, IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONED: Although the description of an alternate-plumaged adult male on Metinic Island, Knox, August 31, 1982 (1982-001), was compelling, many committee members felt the lack of observed blue wing patches in flight was problematic. Although not included in a contemporary regional report in American Birds, the report was noted by Vickery (2020a).
Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus). A bird photographed at Bailey Island, Harpswell, Cumberland, May 14, 1977 (Paul Donahue et al.; Jan Pierson†; 1977-002), becomes Maine’s third accepted record, with four older reports from 1892, 1951, 1954, and 1988 still to be reviewed. Aside from one December record, all are from April or May, suggesting reverse migration of birds wintering south of their breeding range.
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). Maine’s thirteenth and fourteenth definitive Rufous Hummingbirds—as opposed to Rufous/Allen’s—were from Port Clyde, Knox, June 19, 2024 (Ama Bollinger†; 2024-044), and Brooklin, Hancock, October 31–December 2, 2024 (Alex Brasili; Louis Bevier†, Doug Hitchcox†, Henry Mauer†, Rob Speirs†; 2024-053). About a dozen older records await review.
Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans). One at Georgetown, Sagadahoc, October 22, 2024 (Mia Broughton†; 2024-049), was the state’s second accepted record, although about a dozen from between 1874 and 1973 are unreviewed, as is one from late 2025.
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus). An impressive six stilts were found in Maine in the spring of 2025, more than doubling the previous total of five accepted records. These records were of single birds at Belfast, Waldo, April 19–23 (Cloe Chunn; Louis Bevier†, Linda Cunningham†, Robin Ohrt†; 2025-001); Spurwink Marsh, Cumberland, May 3–25 (Alex Ryan; Glenn Hodgkins†, Rob Speirs†; 2025-005); Great Duck Island, Hancock, May 3–6 (Marina Schnell, Bridger Buck†, Kaiti Hall; 2025-008); Monhegan Island, Lincoln, May 3–11 (Laura Desmond, Luke Seitz†; 2025-009); Weskeag Marsh, Knox, May 13 (Ann Boover†; Lee Anne Beausang†; 2025-012); and Kittery, York, May 27–June 8 (Libby Moak; Robert Dixon†; 2025-020).
Ruff (Calidris pugnax). An apparent female Ruff (Reeve) at the Walsh Preserve, Freeport, Cumberland, May 9–12, 2025 (Derek Lovitch†; Gary Jarvis†, Rob Speirs†; 2025-011), represented Maine’s tenth accepted record.
This Ancient Murrelet at Machias Seal Island on June 26, 2025, was presumably the same bird seen at Matinicus Rock on June 19. Photograph June 26 by John Edmondson.
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus). An Ancient Murrelet seen at Matinicus Rock, Knox, June 19, 2025 (Tracey Faber, Peyton Caylor†), was presumed to be the same individual found at Machias Seal Island, Washington, June 26, 2025 (John Edmondson†, Mark Hibbard; 2025-023). It is unknown whether this bird could have been the same individual seen in the Gulf of Maine in the summers of 2016 and 2017.
Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). The adult Tufted Puffin that has visited the Gulf of Maine since 2022—and possibly the same bird as in 2014—returned for over two months in 2025 (2025-016). It was first spotted from the mainland, flying north past Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, on May 22 (Noah Gibb†, Stacey Huth). It then island-hopped between Atlantic Puffin (F. arctica) breeding colonies, observed at Eastern Egg Rock, Knox, May 26, May 29, June 15–20, June 25, and July 16–20; Matinicus Rock, Knox, May 28, June 8, June 22, July 2, and July 11; Seal Island, Knox, June 12 and June 26–27; and Petit Manan Island, Washington, July 4 and July 27–August 1.
This adult Franklin’s Gull briefly visited a northern Maine gas station parking lot in Oakfield. Photograph May 19, 2025, by Bill Sheehan.
Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan). A stunning alternate-plumaged adult alighted in a gas station parking lot in Oakfield, Aroostook, May 19, 2025, while the observer was gassing up his pickup truck (Bill Sheehan*†; 2025-014). This sighting is Maine’s fifteenth accepted record and the first for Aroostook County.
The mystery of this banded Common Gull was solved when it was discovered to have been banded in Massachusetts in 2013 and misidentified as a Ring-billed Gull. Photograph January 18, 2025, in South Portland by Glenn Hodgkins.
Common Gull (Larus canus). Two adult European Common Gulls (L. c. canus) were found a day apart at Samoset Resort, Rockport, Knox, in 2024. The first was found October 31 and was present through November 20 (Evan Obercian†; Tom Aversa†, Ari Hatch†, Gary Jarvis†; 2024-051). The second was a banded bird, with a blue band marked 74J, that was seen there only on November 1 (Ethan Whitaker†, Magill Weber†; 2024-052). However, that bird was later photographed by Glenn and Anna Hodgkins in South Portland, Cumberland, on January 18, 2025. This was also the same individual photographed at Cohasset, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2018 (Iliff 2025). Efforts to learn the banding history of this bird, which was assumed to have been banded in Europe, failed until a similarity was noticed between the blue band and those being applied to Ring-billed Gulls (L. delawarensis) in Quebec. Reporting the band number to www.reportband.gov only as a “gull” solved the mystery: it was banded at Revere Beach, Massachusetts, on December 19, 2013, where it was identified as a Ring-billed Gull, aged as “hatched in 2012 or earlier.” The saga of this gull is detailed by Hodgkins et al. (2025).
The committee re-reviewed a bird from Portland, Cumberland, December 10, 2008 (Eric Hynes†; 2008-015), originally accepted as a “Mew Gull” of indeterminate subspecies (Persons et al. 2015). This record is now accepted as Maine’s earliest Kamchatka Gull (L. c. kamtschatschensis). The only other accepted record of this subspecies is from 2024 (Bevier and Persons 2025), with one accepted Common Gull from 2022 also possibly this taxon (Bevier et al. 2023).
Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus). One was at Eastern Egg Rock, Knox, June 23–25, 2025 (Hannah Leabhart*†, Rafael Revoredo, Keenan Yakola; 2025-024).
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga). On the heels of Maine’s first in 2024 was one photographed at a pond near a landfill in South Portland, Cumberland, May 27–28, 2025 (Tony Gedaro†; 2025-027).
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus). Five juveniles were found on the York River, York, July 13, 2025 (Evan Glynn*†; 2025-031). Then between July 31 and August 7 two juveniles, presumably part of the original flock of five, were seen at various locations in the town of York. For a record from 1984, photographs were found to support a report of a molting adult from Appledore Island, York (Arthur Borror; Denny Abbott, Peter Vickery*†; 1984-005). Although previously published as mid-August (Despres 1984, Forster 1985, Vickery 2020b), the actual date span for this bird was July 28–August 8, 1984. These records represent the fourth and fifth accepted Maine records.
Maine’s second Roseate Spoonbill spent over a week on the Downeast coast in Cutler. Photograph July 27, 2025, by Henry Mauer.
Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). Maine’s second was one at Cutler, Washington, July 21–30, 2025 (Doug Pio†; Henry Mauer†; 2025-030).
Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus). One was banded at Petit Manan Point, Steuben, Washington, October 29, 2024 (Juliana Ramirez†, Coco Faber, Tracey Faber, Glen Mittelhauser; 2024-050).
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus). An adult was seen flying over Scarborough Marsh, Cumberland, April 30, 2025 (Alex Ryan*†, George LaRou, Tracy Meade; 2025-004).
Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). The state’s fourth accepted record was photographed at Boothbay, Lincoln, October 13, 2024 (Tianshuo Wang*†; 2024-047). Two subsequent reports from 2025 await review.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana). A bird in active wing molt was at Kennebunk Plains, York, July 14–16, 2025 (Sam Darmstadt; Heidi Murphy†; 2025-028). The strongly notched three outer primaries identified it as an adult male of the expected nominate South American subspecies.
Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens). One was at Matinicus Rock, Knox, June 22, 2024 (Gianna Arcuri, Tracey Faber, Ignacio Gutierrez Galvan†; 2024-026). Due to an increase in recent reports, the species was removed from the state’s Review List beginning in 2025.
Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii). The state’s fifth record was from Monhegan Island, Lincoln, September 27–28, 2025 (Jessica Bishop*†; Noah Gibb†, Howie Nielsen†, Bill Thompson†; 2025-033).
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). A cooperative bird was seen by many birders at Scarborough Marsh, Cumberland, September 15–17, 2025 (Gail Raymond*†; Henry Mauer†, Bill Thompson†; 2025-032).
LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii). A juvenile at Laudholm Farm, Wells, York, October 12, 2025 (Will Sweet*†; 2025-041), becomes Maine’s seventh accepted record, all from September or October.
Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). An adult visited a feeder in Clinton, Kennebec, December 22–31, 2024 (Wally Sumner; Louis Bevier†, Richard Garrigus†, Tova Mellen†; 2024-058).
This Spotted Towhee at Kittery was presumably the same bird that overwintered a mile away the previous winter. Photograph November 22, 2024, by Terry Chick.
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus). An apparent adult or near-adult female at Seapoint Beach, Kittery, York, November 16–December 16, 2024 (Magill Weber; Terry Chick†, Henry Mauer†; 2024-057), was only 1.2 miles from where Maine’s first, an immature female, was found almost exactly a year earlier (Bevier and Persons 2025). Minor plumage differences—e.g., more white spotting, as well as redder irides—are probably best explained as age variation in a returning individual.
This Kentucky Warbler visited Monhegan Island May 18–19, 2025. Photograph May 18 by Tucker Frank.
Kentucky Warbler (Geothlypis formosa). Maine’s eighteenth accepted record was on Monhegan Island, Lincoln, May 18–19, 2025 (Hayden Sartoris, Tucker Frank†, Stephen Cook; Bill Thompson†; 2025-013).
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea). A cooperative female, often foraging on the ground, was seen by many birders during its stay at Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Cumberland, May 6–8, 2025 (Doug Hitchcox†, Ian Carlsen; Weston Barker†, Sean Hatch†, Nick Lund†; 2025-007). This is the eleventh accepted record, with more than a dozen older reports awaiting review.
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens). An apparent male at Monhegan Island, Lincoln, September 28–29, 2025 (Derek Lovitch; Howie Nielsen†, Bill Thompson†; 2025-034), becomes Maine’s sixth accepted record, with two older reports (1936 and 1998) yet to be reviewed.
Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga townsendi). Maine’s sixth, an adult male, was in Rockland, Knox, April 21–25, 2025 (Tim Shaw†, Gary Roberts; 2025-002).
Corrigendum
One of the finders of a Sedge Wren on Monhegan Island in 2023 was mistakenly published as Phil Baker (Bevier and Persons 2025), but should instead be Phil Brown.
Acknowledgments
As ever, the committee acknowledges with thanks and deep appreciation the submissions of documentary evidence provided by the observers cited above. The committee also thanks our secretary, Becky Marvil, without whom these reports would not be possible. The author also thanks fellow committee members for comments on the draft manuscript.
References
- Bevier, L. R. and T. B. Persons. 2025. Fourteenth Report of the Maine Bird Records Committee. Bird Observer 53 (2):103–111.
- Bevier, L. R., T. B. Persons, K. A. Lima, W. Russell, and D. P. Hitchcox. 2023. Twelfth Report of the Maine Bird Records Committee. Bird Observer 51 (2):115–125.
- Despres, J. 1984. The fall migration, August 1, 1984–November 30, 1984. Maine Birdlife 6 (4):65–69.
- Forster, R. A. 1985. The autumn migration: August 1–November 30, 1984: Northeastern Maritime region. American Birds 39 (1):25–29.
- Hodgkins, G., M. Weber, and A. Hodgkins. 2025. The (rare) Common Gull (Larus canus) in Maine—a species split and the curious case of a New England banded European gull. Maine Natural History Observer 2025 (2):14–25.
- Iliff, M. J. 2025. Status of the Mew Gull complex in Massachusetts: Special twenty-eighth report of the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC). Bird Observer 53 (5):307–323.
- Persons, T. B., L. R. Bevier, W. J. Sheehan, P. D. Vickery, and C. A. Bartlett. 2015. Fourth Report of the Maine Bird Records Committee. Bird Observer 43 (1):21–37.
- Vickery, P. D. 2020a. Cinnamon Teal. In Birds of Maine. P. D. Vickery, C. D. Duncan, J. V. Wells, and W. J. Sheehan. Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. 25. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 104.
- Vickery, P. D. 2020b. White Ibis. In Birds of Maine. P. D. Vickery, C. D. Duncan, J. V. Wells, and W. J. Sheehan. Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. 25. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 321.
