Franklin's Gull: On November 15 Rick Heil discovered a Franklin's Gull on Plum Island, and phone-scoped some photos for the record. 

Cave Swallow:  Is it possible that the first state record of this species occured only in 2003? It has been seen annually since then, and 2008 is shaping up to be a banner year for this species in Massachusetts. On November 11, Rick Heil and Peter Vale captured photos at Sandy Point on Plum Island. On November 19, Mike LaBossiere captured these photos of a Cave Swallow warming itself on a stone farm building.

Black-tailed Gull:  There were at least nine species among the 1500 gulls at Herring Cove in Provincetown when Blair Nikula picked out a Black-tailed Gull on November 1. If accepted by the MARC it will be only the second or third state record! See Blair's photos and Peter Bono's photos. On November 3, Rick Heil got a number of good shots.

Varied Thrush:  On October 26 Rick Heil discovered a Varied Thrush at Eastern Point in Gloucester. Check out  Rick's photos.

Say's Phoebe:  On October 2, John Nelson discovered a Say's Phoebe on Plum Island. Usually these birds don't stick around but lucky birders were able to see it the next day, including Nancy Landry and Rick Heil who were able to get photographs.

Say's Phoebe:  Paul Champlin reported a Say's Phoebe on September 11 at Race Point in Provincetown, and Mark Faherty went there later in the day and was able to capture some photographs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Rufous Hummingbird:  On September 9, Anne Middleton spotted an adult male Rufous Hummingbird at her feeder in Yarmouth. It only stayed two days, but she captured definitive photos.

Broad-billed Hummingbird:  When Ron and Marge Murphy saw a strange hummingbird at their feeder they consulted their friends, Sandra and Charles McGibbon, who photographed the bird on August 23 and identified it as a Broad-billed. They were also able to capture a video which is available in a 10-second version in good resolution here (3 megs it will take a bit) and in a 19-second version on YouTube (compressed). Sandra and Charles contacted master bander Sue Finnegan on August 24 who captured, banded, confirmed the identification with measurements. On August 25 Peter Trimble was able to photograph the bird as well. It was still there on September 14 for photos from Mark Szantyr. Jeff and Amy Davis traveled from Pennsylvania on September 15 and captured both photos and video.

Calliope Hummingbird:  A hummingbird coming to a Deerfield feeder on August was identified by Rob Ranney-Blake as a Calliope hummingbird, only the fifth state record of this species that was only first discovered in Massachusetts in 2002.The previous four records were found after the first of November. Rob captured these stricking photos of this adult male. 

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks:  On June 6 employees at New England Biolabs noted some strange-looking ducks in the pond out back. They pored through a bird guide and decided they were Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. One of them emailed birder Jim Style (who works there) who wandered outside - "with great skepticism" - and was amazed to find out they were! Where did they come from?! Well, at least recently from Nova Scotia. If it weren't enough that there were nine birds in Nova Scotia, or that they disappeared only a few days before they were found in Massachusetts, but one had an abnormal growth over the bill - and so did one of the Massachusetts birds. Check out photos from Rick Heil and Phil Brown.

Black-necked Stilt:  Vern Laux discovered this handsome vagrant in the Cisco area of Nantucket on June 1.

Gull-billed Terns: How lucky can you get? Tom Wetmore tells the story: "Doug Brink, who is President of the Friends of the Parker River NWR, was taking photos of birds on the refuge on Sunday June 1st. When he took the photos in question he assumed the birds were Roseate Terns. Later on Sunday night he was looking over his photos and noticed the  black legs on these birds. Checking his field guide he decided that the birds might be Gull-billed Terns."

Mississippi Kite:  If Mississippi Kite is to be seen in Massachusetts, then Pilgrim Heights in North Truro is the place and late spring is the time. Seeing is one thing, but photographing is another, but Blair Nikula captured some wonderful images of this sub-adult bird on May 29.

Purple Gallinule:  Acting on a tip from Joe Jims, Lanny McDowell saw this handsome adult Purple Gallinule in Oak Bluffs on May 5.

Ruff:  On May 3 Paul Peterson discovered a male Ruff in Rowley. The next day the male was seen, but a second bird was discovered in the same area by Herman D'Entremont and Oakes Spalding. Photos from Ian Davies and Phil Brown.

Pacific Loon:  On May 3 Blair Nikula discovered a breeding plumaged Pacific Loon at Herring Cove in Provincetown, and captured photos of this handsome bird. Has this species ever been photographed before in this plumage in Massachusetts?

Prothonotary Warbler:  On April 24 Dana and Inga Jewell discovered a Prothonotary Warbler at Ell Pond in Melrose. It lingered for several days allowing many birders to enjoy it. See photos from Christopher Ciccone and Paul Ippolito.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher:  On April 13, Doug Kierdorf spotted what he thought might be a Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Chandler Pond in Brighton, and on April 14 got his friend Jean Dunlavy to check it out. It was! Check out photos by Bob Stymeist and Jeremiah Trimble, Marshall Iliff, Paul Kinnally. and  On April 15, see photos by Anne Haggerty, Dan Berard, Marj. Rines, Linda Thompson, Jason Forbes,and video from Matt Garvey.

Bohemian Waxings:  This has been a banner year for Bohemian Waxwings, and in late March Northfield was the place to go. See Sheila Carroll's photos of this impressive flock.

California Gull:  Is there any Larus left to the seen in the state? On February 27 Rick Heil discovered a probable California Gull in Gloucester (where else?)

Northern Hawk Owl:  On February 7 Dan Berard spotted a Northern Hawk Owl in southern Worcester County. It made another brief appearance on February 8. Dan captured photos with his cell phone.

Western Tanager: When Virginia Penney stopped at Joppa Flats to report a possible Western Tanager at her feeder in Merrimac, Dave Larson went (with camera) to check and captured these images on January 21. On January 22 Rick Heil photographed it as well.

Barnacle Goose: Visiting in Sharon on New Year's Eve Gene Leganza went searching the fields for a Greater White-fronted Goose that had been reported, but found a Barnacle Goose instead. Although late in the day he managed a few phone-scoped photos.On January 13 it was still there, and Will Sweet got photos plus a shot of the White-fronted.

American White Pelican: What was a pelican doing in Shelburne Falls on January 8? Photos by Patrick O'Connor and Don Wheeler show it standing in the snow.

Thayer's Gull: On January 2 Erik Nielsen discovered a first winter Thayer's Gull which was photographed by Marshall Iliff on January 3, and James P. Smith on January 5. More photos from James P. Smith on January 10. On January 13 James P. Smith discovered three individuals! Rick Heil phonescoped one of the gulls on January 15 and 17, and again on February 10.

Hoary Redpolls: Redpolls have been reported throughout the Commonwealth this winter, including a surprising number of the very rare Hoary Redpolls. Only a few have been lucky enough to photograph these, including James P. Smith's two Hoaries near Niles Beach in Gloucester on December 30. On January 5 Rich Johnson photographed one at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary feeders. On January 6 Dan Berard captured the same individual. Marshall Iliff photographed up to six Hoaries on Cape Cod, and on January 14 photographed one in Readville. Matt Garvey captured some video of the Readville bird on January 21. Dan Berard was entertaining several Hoaries at home in Millbury and posted some images on January 22.

Slaty-backed Gulls: David Sibley was birding Cape Ann on December 23 and around noon was checking out the gulls on the Jodrey Pier. He noted an interesting bird sleeping on the roof of one of the buildings, but was unable to note field marks until around 12:30 when it flew off with the rest of the gulls and disappeared, not to be rediscovered until 1:30 perched on a second building. BUT David said "The first time we saw it the bill looked very drab, pale fleshy-yellow at the base, which is typical of winter Slaty-backed. . . .When it was perched on the second building an hour later the bill looked bright yellow. It must have been the same bird, but I can't quite convince myself that both sightings were the same bird." Phil Brown managed to capture some flight shots around 2:00PM (and some roosting-on-the-beach photos on December 25). Meanwhile on December 23, Dave Larson and Wayne Petersen were doing  the Cape Cod CBC and at 1:00 spotted a Slaty-backed Gull at the southern tip of Coast Guard Beach and watched it until around 1:45. On December 24 Rick Heil hit Jodrey pier and confirmed David's incredulous suspicion that there were two gulls, and managed phone-scoped photos of both! How many birds???? More photos and video!: Steve Mirick, Taj Schottland, Ian Davies, YouTube, James P. Smith, Jeremiah Trimble, Rick Heil, James P. Smith, Kevin Bourinot. 

Townsend's Solitaire: As if Cape Ann birding weren't exciting enough, Michael Duffy discovered a Townsend's Solitaire at the Rockport Golf Club on December 24, and Rick Heil captured it on his cell phone camera and later that day Jim Hully got photos. On Christmas Day Bruce deGraaf got a lovely flight shot, and Ian Davies photographed it December 26.