Bird-watchers set count record

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NEW YORK – Bird-watchers outdid themselves during the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Nationally, according to a press release, participants submitted more than 85,700 checklists during the four-day event, Feb. 15-18, surpassing last year’s all-time record by several thousand. Participants also identified a record 635 species and sent in thousands of stunning bird images from around the continent.

In Maine counters submitted the following tallies during the four-day period:

Brant: 13 seen by 3 counters

Canada goose: 159, 8 counters

American black duck: 781, 54

Mallard: 990, 54

Northern pintail: 7, 7

King eider: 4, 4

Common eider: 3,633, 31

Harlequin duck: 42, 4

Surf scoter: 21, 9

White-winged scoter: 30, 10

Black scoter: 67, 6

Long-tailed duck: 284, 18

Bufflehead: 256, 37

Common goldeneye: 204, 34

Barrow’s goldeneye: 27, 4

Hooded merganser: 23, 7

Common merganser: 24, 2

Red-breasted merganser: 88, 25

Ruffed grouse: 21, 18

Wild turkey: 744, 83

Common loon: 87, 26

Horned grebe: 220, 14

Red-necked grebe: 21, 3

Great cormorant: 29, 7

Black vulture: 1, 1

Bald eagle: 65, 41

Northern harrier: 1, 1

Sharp-shinned hawk: 6, 6

Cooper’s hawk: 6, 6

Northern goshawk: 2, 2

Red-tailed hawk: 15, 13

Rough-legged hawk: 1, 1

Peregrine falcon: 1, 1

Purple sandpiper: 83, 4

Ring-billed gull: 260, 27

Herring gull: 2,496, 93

Iceland gull: 8, 2

Glaucous gull: 4, 2

Great black-backed gull: 56, 23

Thick-billed murre: 1, 1

Razorbill: 4, 2

Black guillemot: 17, 7

Rock pigeon: 957, 52

Mourning dove: 3,023, 365

Great horned owl: 1, 1

Snowy owl: 2, 2

Barred owl: 12, 12

Belted kingfisher: 1, 1

Red-bellied woodpecker: 3, 2

Downy woodpecker: 572, 356

Hairy woodpecker: 575, 329

Northern flicker: 2, 2

Pileated woodpecker: 49, 42

Northern shrike: 10, 10

Gray jay: 72, 26

Blue jay: 1,875, 388

American crow: 1,298, 280

Common raven: 189, 84

Horned lark: 2, 1

Black-capped chickadee: 4,111, 620

Boreal chickadee: 28, 15

Tufted titmouse: 442, 212

Red-breasted nuthatch: 493, 285

White-breasted nuthatch: 459, 287

Brown creeper: 55, 48

Carolina wren: 7, 6

Winter wren: 1, 1

Golden-crowned kinglet: 10, 3

Eastern bluebird: 16, 5

American robin: 679, 53

Northern mockingbird: 11, 9

Brown thrasher: 5, 5

European starling: 1,400, 81

Bohemian waxwing: 430, 13

Cedar waxwing: 204, 10

American tree sparrow: 604, 113

Fox sparrow: 4, 4

Song sparrow: 55, 21

White-throated sparrow: 26, 16

Dark-eyed junco: 746, 147

Snow bunting: 222, 14

Northern cardinal: 412, 162

Red-winged blackbird: 6, 3

Rusty blackbird: 5, 2

Common grackle: 38, 11

Brown-headed cowbird: 1, 1

Pine grosbeak: 1,098, 125

Purple finch: 120, 27

House finch: 288, 58

Red crossbill: 10, 3

Common redpoll: 4,308, 125

Hoary redpoll: 8, 7

Pine siskin: 108, 32

American goldfinch: 1,377, 166

Evening grosbeak: 729, 41

House sparrow: 530, 64

Total: 38,491