A roseate spoonbill was first spotted in Cutler around July 21 by Doug and Jackie Pio, of Bradenton, Florida, according to the Acadia Birding Festival Facebook page.
This is an extremely rare sighting in Maine, and possibly the first in Washington County, according to Nick Lund of Maine Audubon. These pink wading birds are normally found in the southeastern United States, particularly Florida, Texas and Louisiana.
This appears to be the second sighting of a roseate spoonbill in the state, with the first sighting occurring in 2018 when Dennis Peacock and Dan Furbish spotted one in Sebec, according to the Acadia Birding Festival.
Roseate spoonbills have a broad range that extends from the coastal southeastern United States and south to central Argentina and are resident breeders in South America, generally east of the Andes, and coastal areas of Central America, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
In New England, they’ve been recorded as far north as New Hampshire — the first record for New Hampshire was near the Androscoggin River Dam in Gorham on July 30, 2021. The most northern location it has been reported is near Rimouski, Quebec.
Climate change is pushing these tropical and subtropical shore birds to nest and fly much farther north than they traditionally have, Jerry Lorenz, state director of research of Audubon Florida, told WGCU in 2020. Additionally, some of these northern appearances are likely part of a larger wading bird wave driven by breeding booms on the Gulf Coast, according to the National Audubon Society.
The birds prefer shallow water habitats where they can feed, including both fresh and salt water environments. This bird would probably be associating with other wading birds like herons and egrets, using its distinctive spoon-shaped bill to feed in shallow water areas.
The roseate spoonbill in Cutler is likely a vagrant bird that has wandered far from its normal range, possibly influenced by climate-driven range expansion. This is a significant birding record for Maine, as these sightings are still uncommon this far north.
