2022 was an amazing year for notable birds and birding events in Maine.

The fifth and final year of the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas took place in 2022. Remote, unsampled areas were a focus of the final year of field work. The project used 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps (over 660 in Maine) to divide up the state, each divided into six blocks of 9 square miles. At least one block in every quadrangle was completed, a mammoth effort ensuring that the entire state is adequately covered.

You can see maps of all the bird species at the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas web site. The field work is just the beginning. The coordinators will now devote themselves to analysis of the maps. This atlas allows us to see changes in Maine bird populations since the publication of the first Maine atlas, based on field work from 1979 to 1983 and will provide a solid basis for comparison of changes in future atlases.

A parallel project is the Maine Winter Bird Atlas, now in its final year. Go to its web site to see how you can contribute. Even a few hours of birding make a difference.

Avian Haven in Freedom administered wild bird care to 3,200 injured birds and 75 turtles during the past year. Twenty new volunteers joined the team at the facility and there are now 350 drivers who transport injured birds to the facility.

As far as rare birds in Maine in 2022, the Steller’s sea eagle must be the undisputed star. This vagrant from eastern Asia appeared at Five Islands in late December 2021 and delighted hundreds of birders until early March. The sea eagle was, of course, a first record for Maine. Many birders from out of state came to the Midcoast to see the eagle, a significant boost to local merchants and lodging establishments.

We know the sea eagle next moved to the north shore of Nova Scotia and spent much of the summer and fall in Newfoundland. It has recently been seen in the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, well west of Newfoundland. Perhaps it will move south to Maine for the winter again. Fingers crossed!

Technology played a role in the success of seeing the sea eagle as birders used the group-messaging app called GroupMe. Observers posted information on the location of the bird so other birders could see the sea eagle.

We now have a GroupMe group called Maine Rare Bird Alert that is used to share information about rare birds in Maine. I find this app to be extraordinarily useful. It’s free and works on iOS, Android and web phones.

A barnacle goose that appeared in Rockland in November 2021 lingered into 2022, eventually reappearing at a farm in Warren in April. The closest breeding population of these geese is Greenland. There are 10 previous records for the state.

Henslow’s sparrow is a grassland sparrow nesting in the Midwest eastward to New York. A secretive bird, its presence is usually detected by its buzzed “tzelick” song in the breeding season. Gordon Smith recognized the song from his car at a rural intersection in Brunswick on July 5. A pair of sparrows stayed until Aug. 2, providing the first solid evidence of breeding bird in Maine. There are three earlier single-day records for the state.

Northern lapwing is a large plover found in Europe and Asia. One appeared in Thomaston on Dec. 11 and a flock of five appeared in Hodgdon in Aroostook County between Dec. 11-16, providing the sixth and seventh records of the state.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds occur at high elevations in the western United States. One appeared in Freeport at a hummingbird feeder on Nov. 7 and was still reported present as of Dec. 22. Distinguishing young hummingbirds is difficult but this one was captured by a bander to confirm the identification. It is the first record for Maine.

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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