The Stanton Bird Club conducted its 39th Christmas Bird Count of the Lewiston and Auburn area on Saturday, December 29th. In total, seventeen people participated and recorded 42 species; the average since 2000 is 48. There was 1" of snow on the ground and most open water was frozen. The grand total of 4,331 individual birds was well below the average of 5,600. We had a partly sunny and windy day, with temperatures starting at 32 degrees, rising to 46 by the end of the day. Count week added 3 additional species.
Overall, waterfowl numbers were low in comparison to prior years. There was open water on the Androscoggin River, little open water at Lake Auburn and no open water at Sabattus or Taylor Pond. Raptor counts were up this year, driven by a new count high of 35 Bald Eagles (21 on Sabattus pond ice), and a new count high of 3 for Sharp Shinned hawk.
There were no new bird species added to the count this year.
Less-often-seen birds included a Merlin, a flock of Snow Buntings and Pine Grosbeaks. Count for Tufted Titmouse and White Throated Sparrow reached new highs, while Mallard, Song Sparrow & Northern Cardinal counts were above average. On the low side, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay and Mourning Dove were below average this year.
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