PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 20, 2025
The 126th annual Christmas Bird Counts got underway on Dec. 14, with teams of birders attempting to count all the birds within a predetermined circle in a day. There are hundreds of these circles, a few dozen of which are just in Maine. The count runs through Jan. 5, and different counts are run on different days. Only about half of the counts in Maine have taken place, but we are getting some preliminary numbers that give us insights around what is happening with our birds this winter. We were expecting this to be a good year for many irruptive species, like redpoll, pine grosbeak, and snowy owls that come south (to Maine) from the boreal forest. However, that excitement seems to have fizzled. Another noteworthy observation is the lack of gulls around Portland. One important takeaway is the importance of community science projects in monitoring all birds. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox