There have been some very unusual birds sighted in Maine this spring including the vermilion flycatcher and fieldfare that we wrote about in an earlier column. Another incredibly rare bird was recently spotted but this one has the particular distinction of almost certainly being the same individual that gave Maine its first-ever record just last summer. The bird species we are referring to is the ancient murrelet, a small seabird in the same family (the Alcidae) as the puffin and the guillemot.

Ancient murrelets breed along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia north through southern Alaska and the Aleutians to Russia and south to China and Korea. In winter, birds are seen offshore as far south as California. A study published in 2015 showed that at least some birds tagged with geolocators at nesting colonies in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, made a migratory journey that surprised the researchers. After nesting, the birds traveled west across the ocean to waters off Japan, returning back across the vast distance starting in February. The researchers speculated that the species may have originated in Asia and later colonized its North American range but that its migration back to Asian wintering grounds may be retained in the genetic code of at least some of the birds.

Ancient murrelets have been known for decades to wander beyond their Pacific Coast range, with sightings of the species now amassed in inland waters across much of the U.S. and southern Canada. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before one of these vagrant birds finally made it to Maine and was spotted here. This particular one zeroed in on the seabird nesting colonies along the Maine coast, which probably seemed somewhat familiar to it even if it could never find another of its kind with which to pair. One wonders if our Maine ancient murrelet could have done the incredible and flown for the winter to coastal Japan and then back to Maine again?  And would it make such a journey by flying across the continent or by flying north over the top of the continent through the famed Northwest Passage?

Ancient murrelets are very unique birds in some other ways, aside from their a tendency for long-distance wandering. Like many alcids, including puffins and guillemots, ancient murrelets nest in burrows in the ground. But unlike most other alcids, they coax the chicks from the nest within days after hatching and raise them in the open sea. There are historical descriptions of waves of chicks scrambling down to the sea a few hours after sunset at some colonies on Alaskan islands. Male ancient murrelets also have a charming habit of flying in after dark to nesting islands, landing on a tree branch or other elevated perch, and singing to attract a mate.

I don’t think anyone knows for sure if our Maine ancient murrelet is a male or female. And we don’t know if researchers on any of the islands where it was seen this year or last (Matinicus Rock, Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, Petit Manan Island, and Machias Seal Island) have heard it singing at night. If it is a male and it is singing, will it some night attract a female ancient murrelet that has also made the almost unfathomable journey from the Pacific Coast and establish a new breeding outpost? Imagine that!

Jeffrey V. Wells, Ph.D., is a Fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Wells is one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists and author of the “Birder’s Conservation Handbook.” His grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, a nonprofit membership organization working statewide to protect the nature of Maine. Both are widely published natural history writers and are the authors of the book, “Maine’s Favorite Birds.”