Sunday, December 20

By Linda Seamans, compiler
The Stanton Bird Club conducted its 37th Christmas Bird Count of the Lewiston and Auburn area on Sunday, December 20. Due to an ice storm the previous night, four hardy teams went out on Sunday, and two conducted their sectors the following day. In total, fifteen people participated and recorded 44 species; the average since 2000 is 48. There was 6″ of snow on the ground and most open water was frozen. The grand total of 5,000 individual birds was well below average but higher than previous 2 year counts. The weather was cold with below freezing temperatures early in the day rising to the mid 40’s around noon. Precipitation was freezing rain early, turning to drizzle up until noon, then fog moved in as temperatures rose above freezing.

Overall, waterfowl numbers were low due to little open water at Lake Auburn and no open water at Sabattus Pond. Only 5 Common Loons were found – all at Lake Auburn. Everyone commented about fewer birds found at feeders, likely due to the poor weather conditions. The Peregrine Falcon at the Continental Mill was spotted for the first time in 3 years.
There were no new birds for the count this year, but a Merlin spotted by the DeOrsey team was the first time this bird had been seen since 2000, and a Turkey Vulture seen by Doug Boyd’s team was the first since 1990. Less-often-seen birds included a Belted Kingfisher and Eastern Bluebird. Horned Lark count of 82 birds was a new high and the species had not been seen on the count since 2007. Count for Common Merganser & Rock Pigeons reached a new high, while Dark-eyed Junco counts were above average. On the low side, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers were below average this year.

Here is a total list of birds seen:

American Black Duck….5
Mallard……………….436
Common Goldeneye…..61
Hooded Merganser……..8
Common Merganser…..91
Wild Turkey………….112
Common Loon………….5
Turkey Vulture………….1
Bald Eagle………………3
Cooper’s Hawk…………2
Red-tailed Hawk………..6
Ring-billed Gull……….143
Herring Gull……………78
Rock Pigeon ………….744
Mourning Dove………317
Belted Kingfisher……….1
Red-bellied Woodpecker….1
Downy Woodpecker………18
Hairy Woodpecker……….13
Pileated Woodpecker………3
Merlin……………………..1
Peregrine Falcon…………..1
Blue Jay…………………132
American Crow…………949
Common Raven……………6
Horned Larks…………….82
Black-capped Chickadee..297
Tufted Titmouse………….52
Red-breasted Nuthatch……3
White-breasted Nuthatch…30
Eastern Bluebird…………..2
American Robin………….29
Northern Mockingbird…….3
European Starling………726
Snow Bunting……………19
American Tree Sparrow….35
Song Sparrow………………2
White-throated Sparrow……5
Dark-eyed Junco…………156
Northern Cardinal…………39
House Finch………………29
Purple Finch……………….4
American Goldfinch…….152
House Sparrow………….198

 

44 species and 5,000 individual birds.