{"id":469,"date":"2012-01-22T23:37:49","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T03:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/?p=469"},"modified":"2012-01-22T23:38:13","modified_gmt":"2012-01-23T03:38:13","slug":"highlights-of-maine-christmas-bird-counts-i-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/2012\/01\/22\/highlights-of-maine-christmas-bird-counts-i-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights of Maine Christmas Bird Counts – I"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 112th<\/sup> National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count is now over.\u00a0 Between December 14, 2011 and January 4, birders picked a day to count as many birds as possible in a circular area, 15 miles in diameter.\u00a0\u00a0 These count circles are visited each year, providing a valuable snapshot of changing bird populations over time.<\/p>\n

This column is the first of three in which I will describe some of the notable sightings of the 30+ Christmas Bird Counts (hereafter, CBC\u2019s) conducted in Maine this year.<\/p>\n

The Christmas Bird Season really offers us a look at bird abundance in early winter; results would likely be different if the counts were conducted in mid-February.<\/p>\n

When analyzing Christmas Bird Count results, I find it useful to divide birds into three groups.\u00a0 The first group includes the resident birds like Black-capped Chickadees and American Crows.\u00a0 Have there been any changes in their population size compared to previous counts?<\/p>\n

Then there are lingering migrants, sometimes called half-hardy species.\u00a0 Most individuals will spend the winter well to our south but often stick around in Maine until deteriorating weather conditions or the freezing of lakes force them southward.\u00a0 With the mild fall and mostly open water through December, one might expect a good smattering of lingering birds on this year\u2019s counts.<\/p>\n

Finally, there are winter visitors that migrate in some years from more northerly areas to spend a \u201cbalmy\u201d winter in Maine.\u00a0 These birds include Great Gray Owls, Snowy Owls, Bohemian Waxwings, Northern Shrikes and the northern finches like Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins, Pine Grosbeaks, White-winged Crossbills and Red Crossbills.\u00a0 This year\u2019s counts indicate the current winter is a poor one for these occasional northern visitors.\u00a0 An exception is the Snowy Owls; these birds have staged an invasion of the northern states (see http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/6p4gpzz<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Augusta CBC (December 17) produced a list of 58 species, well above the count average of 46 species.\u00a0 There was enough open water to hold lingering Common Loons (5), one Great Blue Heron and one American Coot. Six Buffleheads and a Red-breasted Merganser are nice sightings at this time of year for an inland location.<\/p>\n

Lingering landbirds included a Northern Flicker, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, eight American Robins, four Eastern Bluebirds, a Northern Mockingbird,<\/p>\n

One Glaucous Gull and five Iceland Gulls were nice winter visitors.