Sightings of rare birds best part of count Science is big winner, though

The quiet, liquid call notes brought my attention to a white pine along the lake edge. Just by luck I happened to catch, out of the corner of my eye, the swift movement of a very small bird as it flew to another tree.

I followed intently and noticed the bird crawling up the thick trunk of another pine. The bird was unmistakable, both by its appearance and its manner of foraging: a brown creeper.

These tiny tree sprites are so named for their habit of flying to the base of a tree and creeping methodically up the trunk, probing its bark for dormant insects. I hadn’t seen one of these birds in quite a while, so I was delighted. It seemed to bode well for the day, the day of National Audubon Society’s 107th annual Christmas Bird Count.

I hadn’t participated in a CBC in three or four years, so when my friend Paul Markson asked if I’d be interested in doing the count with him, I readily agreed.

Typically, participants request or are assigned a specific territory within a 176-square-mile count circle and spend the day or portion of the day tallying the number and types of birds they see. Extremely dedicated and diehard birders will even go out before dawn and stay out long after nightfall in the hopes of adding one or more owl species to their count.

The event has become international in scope, with count circles all over the United States, in Canada, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and the Pacific islands. The resulting data has proven to be a valuable tool in helping ornithologists track the movement and distribution of bird populations in winter.

It’s also a good opportunity for birders to see certain seasonal visitors, including vagrants who have strayed beyond their normal ranges and irruptive migrants, such as snowy owls. Paul and I had high hopes of scaring up at least one uncommon bird for the count, but alas, it was not to be – except for one surprise at the end.

Buoyed up by our brown creeper sighting at the Pushaw Lake campground (which Paul had gotten permission to bird from the owner), we headed out to the remainder of our hopeful “hotspots.” As we visited each stop within our Old Town-Orono area count territory, we grew more discouraged. Sure, there were the typical hairy woodpecker and pileated woodpeckers; the requisite chickadees (although far fewer in number than we expected), goldfinches, nuthatches, and mallard ducks; the ubiquitous crows; and the invasive European starlings.

Although still important for the CBC, it wasn’t these birds alone we were hoping to see. We wondered if the unseasonably mild weather we’d been having until that point was to blame, or perhaps the days’ windy conditions were keeping the birds under cover. Whatever it was sure had us skunked, and we were almost tempted to scratch our last stop off the list.

But we persisted and were rewarded with the prize catch of our day: an adult bald eagle along Kenduskeag Stream, just below Six Mile Falls. Not uncommon by any means, this bird was still a treat to see.

Later, Maine Audubon’s Judy Markowsky sent us the highlights of other peoples’ counts. Seems other CBC participants were lucky enough to see some winter specialties, but sometimes that’s how it is. In the end, it’s the effort that matters, because it’s all in the name of science.

Christmas Bird Count

Old Town-Orono highlights

Barrow’s goldeneyes, hooded mergansers, red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk, merlin, Iceland gull, barred owl, belted kingfisher, northern flicker, northern shrike, Carolina wren, a record number of golden-crowned kinglets (about 70), robins, mockingbird, Bohemian waxwings, and both red- and white-winged crossbills.

Upcoming counts

Dec. 30

Bangor-Bucksport: Contact Fields Pond Audubon Center: (207) 989-2591

Greater Deer Isle: Contact Ken Crowell at (207) 348-6065 or Chip Moseley at (207) 359-2558

Freeport-Brunswick: Contact Judy Walker at (207) 781-2330, ext. 237

Dec. 31

Biddeford-Kennebunkport: Contact Marie Jordan at (207) 799-1408

Jan. 1

Schoodic Point: Contact William Townsend at (207) 288-5654

BDN bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net