On the morning of December 4, 2025 Jon Skinner discovered a Chestnut-collared Longspur at the Fitchburg Airport. Some of Jon’s notes on the sighting: I arrived prior to sunrise and the dark and overcast morning made it difficult to see the flocks of birds out on the tarmac. I was hoping for a Lapland Longspur […]
Birders in Massachusetts and New England have been anticipating a first record of Limpkin for years as nearby states and provinces have seen increasing visits from this southeastern specialty. On Sunday, it finally happened when Jess Maguire discovered one wandering around a residential neighborhood in Scituate. Word spread quickly via GroupMe, Discord and eBird and […]
In 2024, periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) made headlines. A massive emergence occurred in the Midwest and southeastern United States when two broods (Brood XIII and XIX) lined up with one another and emerged in the same summer. Periodical cicada broods emerge on 17 or 13-year cycles, depending on the species, and in 2024 a 17-year […]
While Suffolk County has had its fair share of exciting rarities, Boston birders were treated to three MARC review list species in three days this past week, including a county-first White-faced Ibis and county-second records of Black-necked Stilt and Mississippi Kite. It all began mid-afternoon on Wednesday, May 28, when a Mississippi Kite passed through […]
On 29 December 2024 Krzysztof Kurylowicz was birding at Morris Island in Chatham when he discovered the state’s first record of a Ferruginous Hawk. Krzysztof’s notes from eBird: Dark hawk with white streaking on the breast and white edges of wing and white tail. Flew toward West Side of the island. Harrased by crows. I’ll […]
For its 27th report, the MARC evaluated 125 records involving 43 species. The committee accepted 124 and did not accept one. This report covers records from 1995 through early 2024. Two species are added to the state list based on new records: American Flamingo and Western Wood-Pewee. Taxonomic changes result in the addition of Scopoli’s […]
On November 15th Tim Spahr found the first Worcester Co. record of Hammond’s Flycatcher. Tim’s field notes: Small kinglet-like empidonax with a peaked crown and long primary projection. The general gray-headed and greenish appearance lands me on empids from the west. The small bill and primary projection rule out anything but Hammond’s. The bird also […]
For its 25th report, the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC) evaluated 140 records involving 62 species. The committee accepted 127 of those records. State list Additions: European Golden-Plover, Heermann’s Gull, Roseate Spoonbill, and Great-tailed Grackle. Rereview of a 2009 Common Shelduck and the recent split of Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) from Common Gull (Larus canus) […]
photo by Skyler Kardell || The Massachusetts Avian Records committee met on 26 September 2020 at Westborough Wildlife Management Area. This year we evaluated 234 records involving 91 species, breaking our previous high by 80 records. The previous high was 154 records in the 22nd annual report (2018), which itself was record breaking by about […]
Photo by Ken Magnuson || The Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC) met on 22 September at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Since our previous report, we voted on 113 records, 97 of which were accepted. One species was added to the state list, which now stands at 504 species. The searchable database has […]