Halfway through January and I haven't posted in a while. There's been lots of good, birdy stuff happening in northern Maine.
-- Probably the most noteworthy bird (from a northern viewpoint) is a wintering Carolina Wren at a feeder in Presque Isle. The bird showed up before the Christmas Bird count and was seen the day before and the day after but wasn't seen on count day... It would have been a new species for the count. Interestingly, the homeowner suspects there may actually be two individuals and is working to confirm this.
Speaking of the Presque Isle Christmas Bird Count, a quick summary is in order. For the first time in several years, we had decent weather for the count-- though it was a bit chilly in the early AM. We had a record setting 27 field birders this year. Though numbers of individuals was down a bit from the recent average, we made up for it in diversity with a second-best ever 40 species found (+ the aforementioned Count Week wren). We set records for the number of Mallards, Wild Turkeys and interestingly, Downy Woodpeckers. Raptor-man Dennis Kerekes' team found the second-ever Merlin and Brown-headed Cowbirds were observed on the count for the first time in 25 years.
A Gray Jay made the count, but birders to the south will probably most-envy our finch supply. We had seven species... including both grosbeaks (lots of Pine), Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin and White-winged Crossbills. Three Snowy Owls was a nice total and included a previously undetected individual spotted by Lois Gerke. The paucity of Snow Buntings was notable with only 11 seen.
This week there has been an additional influx of Snowy Owls with 5 new birds reported locally. This puts our total season count for Aroostook County into the teens. New reports include a very white adult male photographed Cross Lake, and others in Cyr Plantation, Littleton, St Agatha and Fort Fairfield.
Pine Grobeaks remain abundant throughout the area and I'm even seeing a few attractive pink males at my feeders in Woodland. As reported elsewhere in area, Evening Grosbeak numbers continue to build with 40+ now daily in my yard. A Sharp-shinned Hawk has taken notice and visits regularly too. Redpoll numbers also appear to be increasing and several Aroostook Birders reported seeing the first big flocks of Bohemian Waxwings in the area this winter.
Stay warm!
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