Bird sightings from Mass Audubon Updated April 17, 2021, 6:42 p.m. Email to a Friend Recent bird sightings as reported to the Mass Audubon : Unequivocally, the most exciting bird sighting last week was a European golden-plover first discovered on Duxbury Beach on April 4. By the following week, a number of birders converged on the beach in hopes of seeing the rare visitor. With only about five previous records for the mainland United States, plus a couple sightings in Alaska, this was an unusual occurrence. Despite the fact that varying numbers occur with some regularity in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, its appearance in the United States is most notable. The species is a common breeder in Iceland, and in eastern Greenland, across Northern Europe to the tundra areas of central Russia; they winter from Western Europe south to Northern Africa and east to Southwest Asia. Its appearances in Atlantic Canada typically occur from mid-April to mid-May following strong northeasterly winds that occasionally deflect migrants bound for Iceland to the remote shores of eastern Newfoundland. It is likely that conditions similar to these accounted for the presence of this unusual visitor on our shores. The plover was present on Duxbury Beach as recently as Thursday.