Gary Gulezian and I did the census. Weather was mild, almost windless, and overcast. Viewing conditions were good, and the outing was pleasant. Highlights of the morning were a skein of 110 Double-crested Cormorants that flew over Belfast Harbor, a Peregrine Falcon perched on a light pole on the US 1 bridge, a Greater Yellowlegs on the shore just east of Belfast Harbor (our environs see very few shorebirds), and the return of Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and Belted Kingfishers. The entire report may be found on ebird using
It is with some sadness that this is the last scheduled census of a five-year study sponsored by the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition. The purpose of the study was to determine the birds that use the resources provided by the Belfast Bay, Belfast Harbor, and the Passagassawakeag River as far upstream as its head of tide during the "winter" months, i.e., September through April. Thus in our study we restricted our attention to only the birds using the above locations as resources and did two censuses in each month (one in the first half and one in the second half). Since we were interested in learning about all birds that use the bay area, we chose our census days carefully. On a census day the census started about 20 minutes before sunrise and 1-2 hours before low tide. We avoided heavy precipitation, heavy fog, and preferably heavy wind (although we put up with the latter with the result being a lower bird count). In collecting data we recorded numbers carefully, trying not to double count birds using two separate count points. For ducks, except the American Black Duck, we recorded the number of males and females. For gulls, we recorded the number of birds in each age class.
There were seven count points altogether around the bay, and for each count point data was entered on a separate spread sheet. It should be noted that each count point had habitat features that differed from other count points and, over the study, showed a spectrum of bird species that differed from other count points. The results reported in our Maine Birders Listserv postings are the combined numbers for the count points.
Gary and I have enjoyed our work and highly recommend such studies to others. Besides the birding, we learned a great deal about the bay and its wildlife. We also kept a count of Harbor Seals and noted the presence of other mammals such as Mink and Coyote. We have been impressed by the shear numbers of bird species and individual birds that use the bay. On each of our censuses we averaged about 17 species, but over the five year period of the study, we recorded a total of 55 species. Unusual or rare birds aside, this shows that over the course of a winter season, the composition of the 17 or so species seen varied considerably. During the dead of winter we often recorded over a thousand individual birds. For both of us this has been a pleasurable and worthwhile experience.
Ron Harrell
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