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The Maine Bird Records Committee was established in 2005 and was among the last of the state bird committees to be formed in the United States.
The committee reviews reports of birds, acts as a repository for the documentation of those reports, and maintains an Official List of bird species recorded for Maine. Our bylaws provide details of committee procedures.
The Official List of Maine Birds, revised to follow recent taxonomic changes and committee decisions lists 475 species as having occurred in Maine (through August 1, 2024).
The committee reviews old and new records. All species for which we seek documentation are noted with an asterisk (*) in the official checklist and available to see in our Review List. In addition, the committee may review reports of species that are out-of-season or out-of-range within the state and review subspecies considered rare to the state. Advice on how to document observations and submit them is under the tab Submit Sightings.
Highlighted rarity
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
Photo by Keenan Yakola
A stunning first record for Maine, this breeding plumage bird stopped on Seal Island, Knox Co., 23 July 2016 when found and photographed by Keenan Yakola (accepted and published in the committee's 6th report). This species has a limited breeding range in northeastern Russia and winters in Australia. The global population is in decline and designated as Endangered (Birdlife International 2017). In North America, the species is a rare migrant to islands in western Alaska and to the Seward Peninsula. Only a few vagrants have been found south along the West Coast of North America and, exceptionally, in the East once to West Virginia and now Maine.
About our logo: Spruce Grouse artwork by Luke Seitz, 2013
Banner photo: Wyeth compound, Allen Island, Knox Co., by Louis Bevier, 2017
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