Date: 1/2/26 8:24 am From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] New Hampshire Birds of 2025 - Summary and Bird of the Year Award!
Approximately 326 Species of birds were reported to eBird in New
Hampshire during 2025. This is 2 species less than were reported last
year and on the high end of the average since 2010 of about 310 to 330
species. One new species was added to the overall State List which was
Common Cuckoo. The total for the State List now stands at roughly 422
species.
Once again, there were LOTS of great birds during 2025! Sadly, many of
these were "one-day-wonders" or even "one-observer-wonders" and some
were impossible to chase out on White & Seavey Islands! As of right
now*** I added no new birds for my NH State List which is stuck at 399.
Being retired, Jane and I got out quite a bit, and I won the prize for
the best "Big Year" with 284 species recorded in NH, beating Jane who
had 281 species!
Top Counties & County Birders Around the State with a couple of bird
highlights:
Overall State of New Hampshire - 326 species (Steve Mirick with 284 species)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockingham County - 304 species (Steve Mirick with 266 species) ---
Bridled Tern, Sabine's Gull, Loggerhead Shrike, Bell's Vireo,
White-winged Dove, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Lark Bunting
Strafford County - 231 species (Sam Stoddard with 189 species) ---
Glaucous-winged Gull, MacGillivray's Warbler, Harris's Sparrow
Grafton - 222 species (Wayne Scott with 200 species) --- Purple
Gallinule, Pink-footed Goose
Hillsborough - 220 species (Nora Hanke with 169 species)Â --- Townsend's
Solitaire, Swallow-tailed Kite, Long-eared Owl
Cheshire County - 216 species (Wendy Ward with 197 species) --- Rufous
Hummingbird, Swallow-tailed Kite
Merrimack - 212 species (Pam Hunt with 186 species) --- Swallow-tailed
Kite, Western Kingbird, Western Meadowlark*** (?)
Coos - 205 species (Lori Charron with 176 species) --- Trumpeter Swan
Sullivan - 199 species (Jen Armstrong with 183 species) --- White-rumped
Sandpiper
Carroll - 196 species (K Klapper with 156 species) --- Painted Bunting
Belknap - 195 species (Rob Woodward with 149 species) --- Summer Tanager
Top Out-of-State Birder Award - Magill Weber from Maine. First of all
she found a Harris's Sparrow while trying (unsuccessfully) to see the
MacGillvray's Warbler in Dover
(https://ebird.org/checklist/S209165105). Then she finds a Loggerhead
Shrike while searching for a Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Exeter!
(https://ebird.org/checklist/S270439041)
Overall Bird of the Year Award - Among all the rarities, the rarest bird
of the year easily was the COMMON CUCKOO found and photographed by
non-eBirder Tori Simpson-Tucker in the South Cemetery in Portsmouth on
November 21st. Although the word got out very quickly, this bird
(sadly) was not relocated by any members of the birding community
despite people getting out later in the afternoon and an army of birders
combing the cemetery the next morning. Common Cuckoo is a Eurasian
species which rarely crosses the ocean to North America. This is a
first State record and only the 5th record for the United States and the
3rd record for New England.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S285494928
Most Common Rare Bird Award - Swallow-tailed Kite (4 widely separate
locations from 3 different counties. Cheshire, Hillsborough,
Merrimack). 2nd place goes to White-faced Ibis with numerous sightings
along the coast this spring (with record numbers of Glossy Ibis) from
Hampton to Rye and inland to Stratham. There were several reports of 2
at once and likely 3 different individuals represented.
(https://ebird.org/checklist/S230094791)
The "Lightning Strikes Twice (or 3 times!) Award - Incredibly, a
Townsend's Solitaire was seen again on Pack Monadnock!  This is now the
3rd time that a Townsend's Solitaire has been photographed from the hawk
watch at the summit in 2017, 2023, and 2025. This year's bird was seen
on November 18th and was nicely photographed by Nora Hanke.Â
(https://ebird.org/checklist/S285108438)
Late Bird of the Year Awards - The Least Flycatcher on 11/29 established
a new record late date for NH (https://ebird.org/checklist/S286891446). A November Baird's Sandpiper and mid-December Rufous Hummingbird were
close to record late dates. The hummingbird even survived two sub-zero
mornings and was last reported on December 14th.
The Comeback Rarity of the Year Award - Mississippi Kites rebounded in
2025 (after a disastrous nesting year in 2024) with two brand new nest
sites and fledging one young in each nest. Don't count them out yet!!!Â
This incredibly rare satellite population has been tenuously hanging on
since at least 2008! (https://ebird.org/checklist/S271635209)
***The Most Enigmatic ID of the Year Award - Eastern/Western
Meadowlark. The identification is (as I type this) currently being
debated for a bird (irregularly) coming to a feeder in Northfield. THE
David Sibley has weighed in and gave a lengthy discussion on why he
thought it was an Eastern Meadowlark, but then he reversed and gave a
lengthy discussion on why he thought it was a Western Meadowlark!!! If
David Sibley can't tell, then how can I say for sure what it
is??????!!!!! I saw and photographed the bird but got poor views and
photos. If it gets accepted as a Western Meadowlark, can I put it down
as my 400th?!?!?! :-)
Some other Megas which deserve mention include:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MacGillivray's Warbler - Amazing find by Cameron Johnson in a bleak,
wintry, field on January 12th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S209036111 Bell's Vireo - Only the 3rd or 4th State record. Found by Brett Hillman
at Odiorne on November 3rd. https://ebird.org/checklist/S282728976 Black-necked Stilt - TWO birds found south of Odiorne on June 9th by
Stuart Varney for "one-day-wonder". https://ebird.org/checklist/S248565450 Lark Bunting - Fantastic find and ID by Debbie Lyons of Seacoast Science
Center at Odiorne on June 5th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S247015398 Worm-eating Warbler - Beauty found by Jim Sparrell at Odiorne on May
4th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S233206098 Pink-footed Goose - Another "one-day-wonder" on Krif Road in Keene on
March 14th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S218425124 Cave Swallow - A good Cave Swallow year in New England. The first one
found in NH by Dylan Jackson for his life bird!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S283513736 White-winged Dove - Sadly, out on Star Island. Found by Stuart Varney
on September 29th. https://ebird.org/checklist/S276339464 LeConte's Sparrow - My only mega find of the year. :-( I think I'm
losing my "edge"! This was a confusing juvenile I found on a field
trip. https://ebird.org/checklist/S277281544
I'd like to apologize in advance for any (likely some) errors and
omissions in my list!
