October 2019

Bygone Birds: Historical Highlights for May-June

Neil Hayward

October 1, 2019 1 MIN READ Bird Sightings, Bygone Birds

5 YEARS AGO

May–June 2014

A Eurasian Collared-Dove was found on Nantucket during the Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon, May 16-17, and a White-winged Dove was on Crane Beach, Ipswich on June 27. A Yellow-nosed Albatross was spotted by the naturalist aboard the Seven Seas whalewatch boat, just seven miles off Gloucester. At the end of June a pelagic trip to Hydrographer Canyon reported eight Audubon's Shearwaters, two White-faced Storm-Petrels, and a South Polar Skua. Rare shorebirds included Wilson's Plover, which was recorded in three locations in May, a Black-necked Stilt at Plum Island and in the Rowley area between May 28–June 4, an American Avocet at Plum Island and Ipswich for most of June, and a Ruff at Plum Island, May 20–22. A Franklin's Gull was photographed at Plymouth Beach on June 10, and a Little Egret was on Nantucket on May 17 and nearby Tuckernuck Island on May 19. A Swainson's Hawk was photographed migrating north over Plum Island on May 3. The following day a Swallow-tailed Kite was seen flying over Cohasset. The best of the passerine rarities was a Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Mount Auburn Cemetery, May 13–14.

Best sighting: Fea's Petrel, Stellwagen Bank, June 25. This bird, photographed on a whalewatch cruise, was a first record for Massachusetts.

10 YEARS AGO

May–June 2009

A Purple Gallinule was photographed on Nantucket in June. Shorebird highlights included Black-necked Stilts at three locations, an American Avocet at Rowley on May 20, and a Curlew Sandpiper at Duxbury Beach on May 24. A weather system in mid-June brought rare pelagic species within sight of land-based birders; South Polar Skuas were recorded from Rockport and Tuckernuck Island, a Black-capped Petrel was seen off Race Point in Provincetown on June 23, and an Audubon's Shearwater was seen the same day off Nantucket. Nantucket also hosted an unlikely Black-backed Woodpecker between May 8–17. Three Swallow-tailed Kites in Brewster on May 10 represented the first time multiple individuals of this species had been seen together in the state. An adult Fork-tailed Flycatcher was a one-day wonder on Nantucket, May 7.

Best sighting: a singing male Henslow's Sparrow, Montague, June 27. This was the first potential breeder since a pair successfully bred in Lincoln in 1994.

20 YEARS AGO

May–June 1999

Single Ruffs were one-day wonders in Newburyport and East Boston in May. Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites passed over the Truro hawkwatch on June 5 and 6, respectively. Two Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were found on May 31, on Nantucket and at Turners Falls Airport. A Philadelphia Vireo at Oxbow NWR in Harvard was singing on territory throughout June, and a Fish Crow at Oak Bluffs may have been a first record for Martha's Vineyard. A Townsend's Warbler was found in Provincetown on May 10.

Best sighting: a breeding-plumage Red-necked Stint at Plum Island, June 26–29. This was the fourth record for the state after the first in 1980.

40 YEARS AGO

May–June 1979

Highlights on Monomoy included three Gull-billed Terns on May 28, a Sabine's Gull on June 1 and a state high count of over 800 "portlandica" (immature) Arctic Terns. A White Ibis was found at Plum Island on June 29. A Mississippi Kite was in Chatham on June 1, and a well-watched subadult Golden Eagle was present in the Wellfleet area between June 14–21. Red-headed Woodpeckers nested in Lynn Woods and two Black-backed Woodpeckers were found on the same day–May 8–in Gloucester and South Easton. A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was photographed at Fort Hill, Eastham on June 17 and an Audubon's Warbler was reported from Mount Auburn Cemetery on May 17.

Best date: May 31 when a Long-billed Curlew was found on Monomoy and a Magnificent Frigatebird was discovered at Penikese Island.