Pacific Loons are reported from many locations along the Massachusetts coast every winter, but reports backed up by photographic evidence come almost exclusively from one place, Race Point. This year was no exception, with at least two individuals photographed from Race Point in January and February. Ted Bradford took the photo above.
An Eared Grebe showed up in Marblehead in mid-December and stayed at least until mid-February. It was likely the same individual that spent January through April 2021 in the same neighborhood. Sam Darmstadt took the photo above.
Massachusetts hosted two Townsend’s Solitaires simultaneously this year. Henrietta Yelle was never happier about her heated birdbath than she was on March 1, when one solitaire dropped in for a drink. Kyron Hanson photographed the other solitaire two days earlier on February 27 at the far end of the state at Mass Audubon’s Lime Kiln Farm Sanctuary near Sheffield. Both solitaires were last reported on March 2. Henrietta Yelle took the photo above.
Pink-footed Goose has come a long way from 2008, when the state had no accepted records. More than 25 have been documented since, with multiple individuals appearing here in each of the past 5 winters. This winter featured a new milestone when a group of four Pink-foots visited the Pioneer Valley. Originally spotted in Longmeadow in early December by Meghadeepa Maity and Jeremy Spool, the quartet spent the rest of the winter in Connecticut, then came back up the Valley to Hadley in early January and Northampton in early March. Ted Gilliland took the photo above.
No fewer than four Western Tanagers appeared in Massachusetts in January. The bird in Yarmouthport was the most cooperative, staying around for at least a month. The human host initially invited birders onto their property to observe the tanager, but unfortunately a few birders trespassed on neighbors’ property, and the invitation was retracted. Other tanagers visited North Attleboro, North Truro, and Edgartown. Ross Sormani took the photo above.
The Cape and Islands harbored no fewer than four Tufted Ducks this winter. Nantucket, probably the state’s most consistent area for the species, had a male and a female together, and there were females in Harwich and Mashpee. Sue Finnegan took the photo above