This is New Hampshire Audubon’s Rare Bird Alert for Monday, August 25, 2025.
2 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at Lackie Farm on Ammonoosuc Street in Bath on August 19th and 22nd.
3 MISSISSIPPI KITES were seen flying over Morningside Park in Dover on August 23rd and 24th, and 1 was seen flying over Woodridge in Durham on August 24th.
2 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were reported from the Isles of Shoals, on August 22nd.
2 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were seen at Surry Mountain Lake on August 22nd.
An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, a PECTORAL SANDPIPER, and a STILT SANDPIPER were seen at the Rochester Wastewater Treatment on August 21st. The treatment plant is gated and the hours of operation are 7:30-2:00 on weekdays only. If you visit, please park in a designated spot at the main building and be out of the plant by 1:45 so that plant personnel do not have to ask birders to leave. Do not drive on the dikes and do not block the road. The Trails at Pickering Ponds, located east of the plant, are not gated, and are always open during daylight hours.
There was an unconfirmed report of 5 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS seen at Meadow Pond in Hampton on August 19th.
A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was seen at the Pease International Tradeport grasslands on August 25th.
A BAIRD’S SANDPIPER was seen at Plaice Cove in Hampton on August 19th, and 1 was seen at Marsh Road Pond in Rye on the 21st.
4 CASPIAN TERNS was seen at Foss Beach and Ragged Neck in Rye on August 23rd.
A FORSTER’S TERN was seen in Hampton Harbor on several days during the past week.
There was unconfirmed report of a COMMON TERN from Lake Umbagog in Errol on August 22nd.
A BONAPARTE’S GULL was seen at Moore Reservoir in Littleton on August 25th.
A RAZORBILL was seen off the coast on August 20th, and 2 COMMON GOLDENEYES were seen off of the coast on the 22nd.
A LEAST BITTERN was reported from the Cranberry Pond Wetlands behind the Price Chopper store in West Lebanon on August 21st.
2 juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and 1 adult were seen at Fields Grove City Park in Nashua on August 21st.
2 LITTLE BLUE HERONS were seen in pools and marshes south of Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, 2 were seen at Parson’s Creek Salt Marsh in Rye, 1 was seen in Hampton Marsh, and 1 was seen in Seabrook, all on several days during the past week.
A SNOWY EGRET was seen on the Merrimack River in Boscawen, and 1 was seen at Adams Point in Durham, both on August 23rd.
3 BLACK VULTURES were seen at Woodward Road in Westmoreland on August 24th.
A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was seen on the Jewel Trail in the White Mountains on August 22nd.
An ORCHARD ORIOLE was seen at World End Pond in Salem on August 19th.
COMMON NIGHTHAWK southbound migration is underway. Highlights from the past week included: 979 seen from Powdermill Pond in Hancock, 549 seen from Franklin Falls, and 79 seen from the Storrs Street Parking Garage Concord, all on August 24th.
A nighthawk watch, led by a NH Audubon volunteer, is held in Concord, NH on the roof of the Capitol Commons Parking Garage on 75 Storrs Street every evening (except in bad weather) from mid-August into the first week of September. Numbers of migrating nighthawks are tallied from 5:30 pm to about 7:30 pm. Visitors are welcome. Some evenings can be an incredible spectacle, but it is not easy to predict when that might happen.
This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred. To leave a message about a rare bird without listening to the recording first, press 2.
If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via email. Please put either “bird sighting” or “Rare Bird Alert” in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and phone number.
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Learn more about birds and birding in New Hampshire with New Hampshire Bird Records (read a free article in each issue). This quarterly publication is produced by NH Audubon thanks to the work of many volunteers. It is available for free in digital format to all NH Audubon members.
Thanks very much and good birding.