Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition

Christmas Bird Count in Belfast Breaks a Record (January 4, 2020)

A team of Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition volunteers participated along with other bird counters in the 120th Christmas Bird Count, the oldest citizen science bird project on the planet.  The Belfast Circle is a 14-mile diameter circle from Belfast to Stockton, Frankfort, Monroe, and Waldo.  The center of the circle is Mt. Waldo. Watchers stalked their sections all day January 4 tallying birds by species. The weather was mild with no wind, and participants didn’t feel threatened to be out all day.

Collectively, teams in the Belfast Circle found 71 species, including 4 species of owls, setting a record of species counted in the Belfast Circle. Bob Brown found a Snowy Owl. Tom Aversa, the only "party" to go owling, was rewarded with responses from Barred and Northern Saw-whet, while a Great Horned Owl flew in and landed over his head. 

Numerous stories of the day’s events buzzed at the after-action potluck in Swanville, where hungry birders dined on some scrumptious food, a highlight of which is always Ron Harrell’s scalloped potatoes. There were apple pies, chicken pie, and Seth’s famous Cincinnati Chili, a Christmas Bird Count tradition.

Besides the owl news, a count circle highlight was a first time seen species - Ruby-crowned Kinglet, two individuals together. Raptors were also a highlight; in addition to the owls, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrel made the list.

The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 aiming to reverse the trend of going out on Christmas Day and shooting birds. It indeed caught on, never missing a year of the 20th century and still continuing, now happening all over the world. Maine has 29 count circles with individual counts scheduled on different days, between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, to allow participation in more than one count.

Join the team for the next Christmas count. Contact Seth Benz at  sbenz@schoodicinstitute.org

Winter Birds of the Belfast Bay Watershed (December 29, 2018)

On December 29, the 2018 Christmas Bird Count for the Belfast sector, sponsored by the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition, was conducted by 29 volunteers. They divided up the territory, a 15-mile diameter circle from the Belfast Bay to Stockton, Frankfort , Monroe, and Waldo.  The center of the circle is Mt. Waldo. Watchers combed their sections all day tallying birds by species. For once, the weather was mild and partly sunny, and participants didn’t feel threatened to be out all day.

Results added up to 61 species seen, totaling 4962 individual birds, 1189 of which were herring gulls.

   View the detailed list here.

Some less common sightings on land included a northern shrike, northern mockingbird, Carolina wren, 2 northern flickers, 2 Coopers hawks, and 23 evening grosbeaks. On the bay, a peregrine falcon, a kingfisher, 2 wood ducks, 2 great black-backed gulls, 2 black guillemots, 5 razorbills, and 6 red-throated loons. Partridges were seen, but not in a pear tree!

The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 aiming to reverse the trend of going out on Christmas Day and shooting birds. It indeed caught on, never missing a year of the 20th century and still continuing, now happening all over the world. Maine has 29 count circles with individual counts scheduled on different days, between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, to allow participation in more than one count.

To join the team, contact Seth Benz at  sbenz@SchoodicInstitute.org .