The most amusing rarity of the spring was clearly the Bridled Tern that Liam Norton found in Scituate on July 10. It was still present through press time. The bizarrely sociable bird frequently landed on people’s cameras, phones, heads, and even dogs. More typically distant individuals flew past Westport on June 17 and Eastham on July 8. Multiple birds were likely involved, with Bridled Terns seen in New Hampshire and Maine overlapping in time with the Scituate bird. Jason Forbes took the photograph.
Our state’s seventh record of Chestnut-collared Longspur came just over a month after the sixth was last seen. The individual that overwintered at Fitchburg Airport was last reported on April 14. On May 22, Keenan Yakola found another longspur on Crosby Landing Beach, Brewster, which was a one-day wonder. Mary Jo Foti took the photograph.
Lauren Miller-Donnelly found a Black-necked Stilt at Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Sanctuary, Dartmouth, on June 6, which disappeared after a few hours. On June 21, Scot MacAlister found it or another stilt in the same neighborhood. Two days later, a second bird joined it. The pair remained in the vicinity of the sanctuary through at least July 2. Valerie Burdette took the photograph.
Joe Oliverio found a Loggerhead Shrike in Hampshire County twice this year: May 29 in the Hadley Honeypot, and July 1 in Northampton’s East Meadows. The two locations are nearby so it could have been the same shrike both times, but where did it go for the month in between? Ann Piccolo found another shrike at Plymouth Airport on June 20, and Nadine Wright found one in Gloucester on May 22. The first three sightings were one-day wonders, and the last shrike returned for a second day before disappearing. Joe Oliverio took the photograph.
William Buswell found a Bicknell’s Thrush in the Fenway Victory Gardens on May 18. If accepted by MARC, this would be only the sixth state record since the breeding population on Mount Greylock fizzled out approximately half a century ago, and the first record for Suffolk County. The bird was not only photographed but also recorded singing by several observers during its four-day stay. Jason Forbes took the photograph.
With five records for Golden-winged Warblers in May, Massachusetts had perhaps its best spring since MARC added the species to the state’s review list in 2017. A bird in Pittsfield on May 10-11 overlapped with a sighting in New Salem on May 11, followed by others on May 15 in Athol, May 18 in Williamstown, and probably the most-watched individual, May 20 at Mount Auburn. Tom Kirby took the photograph.