Pacific Loons were reliable as usual off Race Point, Provincetown, during the winter of 2025–2026. The first appeared at the end of October, and from one to four individuals were reported at various times through mid-March when we went to press. Paul Lalumiere took the photograph.
Massachusetts’s first Pink-footed Goose of 2026 was a one-day wonder in Longmeadow on January 19. Keigan Case found a more cooperative individual in Sheffield on March 11, which has remained at least through our press deadline of March 15. Michele Keane-Moore took the photograph.
On March 8, Ted Gilliland was in Agawam on the Connecticut River waiting for hours in dense fog. When it finally lifted, he saw a flock of ten Tundra Swans climb onto the ice near the Longmeadow Sandbar, where they rested through the end of the day. The following day, they were gone. Ted took the photograph.
Ted Gilliland found a Barnacle Goose roosting in a huge flock of Canada Geese on the Connecticut River between Agawam and Longmeadow on March 9.; it stayed until March 11. Two days later, one appeared two counties northward along the river at the power canal in Turners Falls. Careful observers noted subtle plumage differences, hinting that the more northern goose was likely a different individual than the southern one. A third goose appeared in Nantucket March 5–8. Qin Yin took the photograph.
An adult male Painted Bunting spent much of the winter in Brewster, Cape Cod, mostly visiting the feeder of a homeowner who did not want visitors. On March 10, David Clapp found it in a thicket adjacent to the local Unitarian Church, where several lucky birders were able to admire it from a public parking lot. A female was photographed at another homeowner’s feeder in Dennis, not far away. Al Curtis took the photograph.
On February 18, David and Fran Clapp came across a Townsend’s Solitaire in Wellfleet, feeding on juniper berries between a campground and a nearby store. Many birders enjoyed seeing the solitaire, which was last seen on March 10. Sergey Pavlov took the photograph.