I See One!
Four calling birds, three pheasant hens, two mourning doves, and a partridge in a pine tree . . . on Maine’s annual Christmas Bird Count, intrepid birders range out across the state to tally turkeys.
107That’s the number of years that volunteer birders from across the nation have ventured out on designated mornings in December and January to count every single bird they see or hear as part of the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
566
Number of individual Maine birders who officially participated in the thirty-one counts.
2,052
The number of counts that took place last year across the nation.
69,354,406
Total number of birds counted in the United States by these dedicated bands of birders.
Did we mention they counted every bird they saw?
24
The hour period in which a given Christmas Count takes place and during which birders are asked to tally their total sightings.
31
The number of these counts that occurred within the state of Maine, from York County to Presque Isle, and Rangeley to Machias Bay. So there’s got to be one near you. Contact Maine Audubon (www.maineaudubon.org) for information about participating this year.
10,758
The total number of chickadees — Maine’s state bird — counted here during last year’s counts.
4
Degrees — the average low temperature in Presque Isle on December 30, 2006, the day of that count.
106
Highest number of bird species counted on a specific Maine count — Greater Portland — last year. (But they also had the most people counting: 43.) Lowest number of species counted was 21, in Misery Township.
1
Western tanager on Monhegan Island, perhaps the rarest bird seen on last year’s Maine Christmas Bird Count. Runner up: a single yellow-throated warbler seen in Waterville.
3
That’s the total number of snow geese (those white birds above) that were spotted on all the various counts in Maine last year. Maybe this Christmas?
Comments may be edited for spelling. Profanity is discouraged. If you'd like your comment considered for inclusion in the magazine, please include your hometown and state.