[Maine-birds] Misery CBC Results

While the final tallies are being gathered, I wanted to send out a note regarding the species that were seen for those who are interested.

It was a cold and clear day with the starting temp at around -12 and not seeming much warmer as any rise in temperature seemed to be outpaced by the wind chill. The average wind chill for The Forks was around -30 for the day.

That being said, the birds were in good order. Not quite the diversity that has been around in past years but respectable at 20 species total. This circle has been as high as 27 species and as low as 14 but usually is in the area of what we saw. Most birds were found high up in the cone crops or down on the road eating grit.

While the conditions usually lend themselves to birds being seen at feeders, this area does not have an abundance of feeders and a few of the ones we have visited in past years were empty (common on the counts I have done this year)

For those wondering about the winter finches, it was largely quiet with the exception of the Pine Siskin. They were everywhere and although not huge numbers the coverage made me think that had we been able to get deeper in the woods the numbers would have climbed dramatically. Purple Finch and White-Winged Crossbill were also present as were the American Goldfinch, though none in huge numbers.

I think the surprise for both teams was that we each located a single snow bunting in differing places across the circle from each other. These was the first on the count since 2005.

List of species:
Ruffed Grouse
Bald Eagle(Adult)
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Gray Jay
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-Capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Snow Bunting
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Purple Finch
White-Winged Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

And while the temperatures were down, the spirits were high and the day was truly spectacular. I would highly recommend this count circle to anyone even slightly curious about birding in this type of landscape.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you and Happy New Year to all,

Rob O'Connell

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