Birders to meet Jan. 24
Over 40 local bird watchers recently joined tens of thousands of others in a long-standing holiday tradition, National Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The Aroostook Birders’ bird watching club organized two Aroostook counts: a Caribou count on Saturday, Dec. 29, and a New Year’s Day count in Presque Isle.
A Savannah Sparrow is pictured at the feeders in the back yard of a Presque Isle home during a recent bird count. This species would normally have long-since migrated to warmer climates but this one chose to stick around to be counted.
LOOKING FOR BIRDS — Connie McLellan and Bill Sheehan scan fields and trees in Chapman during the Presque Isle annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Counters at feeders and in the field recorded 35 different bird species in the day-long tally.
Now in its 113th year, Audubon’s count enlists the help of citizen volunteers from across the entire western hemisphere. They watch at feeders or comb the countryside within a “count circle” looking for any and all birds. Data collected provides insight into how bird populations and their habitats are doing and what needs to be done to protect them.
According to Bill Sheehan, count coordinator and Aroostook Birders’ president, this year’s local counts found birds concentrated at feeders and predictable food sources, where birders discovered a few unexpected surprises.
“Most water was frozen and a foot or more of snow covered the ground,” Sheehan said. “A scarcity of natural foods such as cones and berries made it slow going out in the fields and forest, but feeders were hopping with activity.”
The New Year’s Day Presque Isle count saw 20 birders in the field and 16 at feeders who tallied 35 species throughout the day. As noted by Sheehan, two surprising feeder finds were a “count-first” Brown Thrasher and Savannah Sparrow, both unprecedented records for northern Maine in winter. Wild turkey were officially recorded as a new count species and Red Crossbills were sighted for only the second time ever in the 60-plus year history of Presque Isle’s count. Also notable were six Northern Cardinals, 518 Black-capped Chickadees and 598 Common Redpolls, high counts of 34 Bald Eagles, 176 Mourning Doves and a single Rough-legged Hawk.
Caribou/Limestone area counters recorded a local record high count of 5,193 individual birds, compared to 3,755 sighted in Presque Isle. High species counts included 2,603 European Starlings, 934 Common Redpolls, 68 Pine Grosbeaks and four Bald Eagles. Among the 30 species seen, highlights were a Black-backed Woodpecker, Cooper’s Hawk, Hoary Redpoll and what Sheehan described as a “miserable” American Robin still lingering in northern Maine.
Forty Common Mergansers were spotted on Caribou’s limited amount of remaining open water.
A complete listing of all species recorded on both Aroostook County counts can be found at www.aroostookbirders.com.
To learn more about birding activities in northern Maine, visit the website or contact Sue Pinette at 764-1801. The next meeting of Aroostook Birders will be held on Thursday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. at the Aroostook State Park Lodge in Presque Isle. All with an interest are invited to attend.
