Jerry Twomey and Alan Trautmann discovered a Barn Owl roosting in a grove of trees at Belle Isle Marsh in early May. A wise decision was made to wait for a couple of months before making the sighting public in order to protect the bird from being harassed by photographers. Alan took the photo above.
An evening bird walk in Parker River NWR, led by Sue McGrath, discovered a Fork-tailed Flycatcher on August 10. The bird was not relocated the next day. Lee Weber took the photo above.
Maybe the most-viewed bird in the state this summer, an American Avocet appeared at Plum Island in late July and lingered in the area for over a month. Suzanne Sullivan took the photograph above.
The August 2016 edition of the BBC Extreme Pelagic was its usual spectacular self, with at least five White-faced Storm-Petrels and a Black-capped Petrel, plus a Sowerby’s Beaked Whale and perhaps most astonishingly a Whale Shark! Luke Seitz took the photo above.
Ginger Andrews and Trish Pastuszak discovered not one, but two White-winged Doves at their feeders on August 20. One kept visiting until at least the 24th. Trish took the photo above.
A Baird’s Sandpiper found near Williamstown by Manuel Morales was the first in the Berkshires since 1976. Gael Hurley took the photo above.