The rare Steller’s sea eagle made its way back to Maine last winter for the second year in a row. Zachary Holderby, Downeast Audubon via AP
At the end of 2023, it’s appropriate to look back on the year’s unusual records of birds in Maine. Some of our unexpected visitors came from western North America, from the southern United States, from Newfoundland and from Europe. An old friend returned for a second winter along the Midcoast. We also added a new species to the Maine Bird List.
A northern lapwing – a Eurasian plover – spent the latter part of 2022 in Kennebunkport and continued into 2023 for a great start for our 2023 rare bird tally. Two western species, a sage thrasher at the Maine Audubon property in Falmouth and a Townsend’s solitaire at Laudholm Farm in Wells, appeared in January.
A Harris’ sparrow in Lewiston appeared on Jan. 8 and stayed through March 12, and a western kingbird was in Scarborough on Jan. 21.
One of the most notable birds was the common ringed plover (a Eurasian species) in Biddeford, first seen on Jan. 31. It succumbed to the winter cold on Feb. 4 and is now a museum specimen. It is the third record for Maine.
Also on Feb. 4, news spread like wildfire that a Steller’s sea eagle was seen in Arrowsic. This spectacular bird spent three months in the Midcoast area the previous winter. It stayed for about a month in 2023, attracting many birders.
The sea eagle was seen as recently as Dec. 17 on the southwest portion of Newfoundland. Perhaps it will return to Maine for a third year.
March brought us a Pacific loon in Searsport, staying until April 18. Three barnacle geese showed in March, one each in Portland, Yarmouth and Auburn.
The spring migration usually brings a variety of vagrants to Maine. Last year’s spring vagrant list was eye-popping. The list for 2023 is not quite up to that standard. But Maine birders discovered many extralimital birds: a rufous hummingbird in Frankfort on May 1, a yellow-throated warbler in Sanford on May 2, a Mississippi kite in Scarborough on May 9, an American white pelican offshore of Portland on May 9, and a hooded warbler at Fort Foster in Kittery on May 10.
Crested caracaras are falcons that spend much of their time feeding on the ground. The closest populations to Maine are in Florida and Texas. We had three caracaras in Maine this spring in Cape Elizabeth, Monroe and Swanville.
A white-winged dove in Farmington and a Eurasian collared-dove on Petit Manan in Steuben were notable spring records. A tufted puffin – a Pacific species – returned to Petit Manan for the second year.
Two southern species spiced up June birding. From June 6-14, an Acadian flycatcher was at Laudholm Farm and a loggerhead shrike was on the Kennebunk Plains on June 8.
Another southern species, black-bellied whistling duck, appeared on July 7-10 in Sanford, the fifth record for the state.
Birders on a whale watching boat out of Boothbay Harbor saw and photographed a yellow-nosed albatross on July 8.
The fall migration brought us many vagrants. An eared grebe was on North Pond is Smithfield on Aug. 10. A marbled godwit delighted birders at Hills Beach between Aug. 16-22.
The sixth record of LeConte’s sparrow was a bird sighted on Sept. 5 in Stratton. A western Cassin’s vireo in Searsport on Sept. 14 was a surprise.
Maine’s fifth record of a Swainson’s hawk was in Lamoine between Sept. 24 and Oct. 14.
Three notable flycatchers arrived in Maine this fall. A western kingbird seen in Washington County on Sept. 20 and a western wood-pewee in Kennebunkport on Oct. 21 were eclipsed by the Hammond’s flycatcher (a western species) on Monhegan Island on Oct. 12. The Hammond’s was the first record for Maine.
A purple gallinule delighted many birders at Rogers Pond in Kennebunk in late October.
Dec. 19 produced an ash-throated flycatcher at Merrymeeting Bay and a spotted towhee at Fort Foster. The flycatcher is long gone as of Christmas, but the towhee was still present.
Finally, a western Townsend’s warbler was sighted on Dec. 23 in Ogunquit.
Herb Wilson taught ornithology and other biology courses at Colby College. He welcomes reader comments and questions at whwilson@colby.edu
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