As much as we humans are resistant to change, we also seem to be collectively drawn to novelties — all the antique shops and art galleries along the Maine coast are in part a testament to this human tendency. This love of novelty also extends to those who pay attention to the natural world. We marvel at the white ladyslipper when we are used to seeing only pink ones. We marvel at the rare sight of a huge luna moth when it appears on the screen door on a late summer night. And, of course, we are delighted when a new bird species appears at the feeder or in the harbor.

There’s no doubt that our black-capped chickadees hold a special place in our hearts as our faithful and friendly neighbors even throughout even the cold winter. And it’s comforting to see the flock of common eiders along the shore throughout the year.

But when we hear of a snowy owl appearing on the Point, there’s a surge of excitement in our chest. We have the urge to jump in the car and hurry over to try to see this new and novel visitor that has descended from the North, where it may have lived with polar bears and walruses. We’ve experienced this urge several times already this season, as a number of snowy owls have already been reported this fall along the Maine coast.

For avid birders, there’s an irresistible drive to look for and identify the rarest bird species that can occur in a region. Here in Maine, we have had some good ones already this year. Earlier in the fall there was, for example, the crested caracara that spent a few days in Norridgewock. The crested caracara, for those who don’t know, normally ventures no farther north than Florida and Texas, although individuals have appeared with increasing frequency north of the normal range in recent years. Right now, there’s a very rare Townsend’s Solitaire (a West Coast species) delighting birders in Freeport.

And then there are the mega-rarities — species so rare that they only have occurred once or only a handful of times across all of North America. Exploring the world of these species is a new book called “Rare Birds of North America” that just came out this year (Princeton University Press). One of the authors is our friend, bird guru and former Maine resident Will Russell. Along with species accounts are beautiful drawings of the rare birds that could make their way to North America, including some that have occurred in Maine like northern lapwing (we saw the one that was in southern Maine last spring!), pink-footed goose, little egret, and green violetear (a hummingbird). One feature of the book that we enjoyed is the chapter explaining how birds can get mixed up and end up far away from where they intended to be — complete with fun maps.

Now just keep your eyes open for the next wayward Eurasian hobby or fork-tailed flycatcher!

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. 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. Both are widely published natural history writers and are the authors of the book, “Maine’s Favorite Birds.”