Reinhard Vehring discovered our state’s rarest bird of the spring, a drake Garganey, in a flooded field at Kamon Farm in Ipswich on April 21. It was the fifth state record, the first in more than two decades, and only the second in Massachusetts outside of Plum Island. This one-day wonder was seen by many lucky birders. Marj Watson took the photograph.
Two Ross’s Geese passed through Massachusetts this spring. Davey Wolters found the first in Newbury March 24—25. Bev King turned up the other in the Slocum’s River Reserve in Dartmouth on April 21; it remained in the area through at least May 5. Chris Floyd took the photograph.
Pauline Banducci, visiting from her home in the Berkshires, went looking for a White-faced Ibis on May 6 that had been reported in the Rowley vicinity the day before. She instead found a Black-necked Stilt, the first to visit the state since last May. Jim MacDougal took the photograph.
Franklin County’s second Painted Bunting visited Joe Follansbee’s feeders in Whately on April 24—25. The county’s first record was also in Whately, less than five miles away, almost 15 years earlier. Another male showed up at a feeder in Plymouth on April 15, and a female put in an appearance in Dennis on March 3. Joe took the photograph.
The origin of Trumpeter Swans seen in Massachusetts over the past couple of years was thrown into doubt by the revelation that two birds at the Southwick Zoo in Mendon have fledged a few young that escaped into the wild. A swan was seen from February 27 through March 14 in Westboro, which is about 15 miles from the zoo. Another swan seen on April 28 in Orange was quite a bit farther from the zoo—more than 50 miles away—increasing the odds that the bird had strayed eastward from the Great Lakes reintroduced population. Bill Millett took the photograph.