[Maine-birds] Maine's first state records 2015-16, ME-BRC 6th report

With all the hoopla over Maine's recent rarities, the Vermilion Flycatcher and Fieldfare, now might be a good time to read about other rare finds in the state over the past couple of years, including species new to Maine. The sixth report of the Maine Bird Records Committee was published in this month's Bird Observer. If you don't subscribe to the Bird Observer, you should. Please go here and consider subscribing: http://www.birdobserver.org

Thanks to Bird Observer, a reprint of our report is available on the Maine Bird Records Committee web site here:
https://sites.google.com/site/mainebirdrecordscommittee/reports

Highlights of the report include eight species accepted as documented for the first time in the state of Maine:

Great Knot (Keenan Yakola hits it out of the park!)
Surfbird (Tin Mountain Bird Society makes its debut)
Ancient Murrelet (John Drury found in his words a "handsome wee craft")
Tufted Puffin (what do John James Audubon and Ralph Eldridge have in common?)
Trindade Petrel (Doug Hitchcox, we love you anyway)
Crested Caracara (Steve and Debby Muse weren't fiddling around and brought music to our ears)
Rock Wren (Tom and Pat Cabe showed that field descriptions *at the time* are good)
Brewer's Sparrow (Lysle Brinker does it again)

In addition, most will remember the Black-throated Sparrow at Winter Harbor from January to March last year (thanks to Chuck Whitney, Ed and Debbie Hawkes, and others). That provided the first solid evidence of that species for the state. These records brought the total number of accepted species on Maine's state list to 453, but we do have at least two more to add…they need to be reviewed and accepted, but 455 is a good bet for the current state list total.

Thanks to the entire committee and secretary Becky Marvil for all the hard work.

Good birding!

Louis Bevier
Fairfield

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