Vol. 2, no. 4 Tuesday, January 28, 1997
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Audubon Christmas Bird Count -- Lewiston, Maine area | From the Press (Possible cougar sighting) | Downeast Birdline -- discontinuation announcement | Meeting of new group: Greater Portland Naturalists Forum | Publication announcement: Biological Diversity in Maine: An Assessment of Status and Trends in the Terrestrial and Freshwater Landscape |
You are invited to participate. Your reports are always welcomed!
Please e-mail Frank Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu
This week's reports
Report format = Day, date, time. Location (Maine Atlas Map number) Report text. Initials of correspondent
Tuesday, January 21. Phippsburg (Map 6) Seawall Beach. Around 4:00 pm, in the late
afternoon sun, at very low tide, I was about 20 feet from 35 sanderlings -- the only birds
in sight on the entire beach. Their images were reflected off the shiny sand along the
water's edge. At times several would stand and hop around on one leg. They kept the leg up
until a wave would wash under them, and then would drop their hidden leg and go racing
towards the beach.
Earlier I saw two gulls in the distance tugging at some small object, each leaning back,
bracing against one another with equal force; they held this position for about 20
seconds, neither one moving, until either the object broke or slipped from one of their
beaks, at which point they both fell awkwardly back with wings wildly thrown out to help
regain balance. Also saw 3 seals at the mouth of the Morse river one of which kept me
under close watch. A.G.
Tuesday, January 21, 8:00 p.m. Holden (Map 23) Rte. 46 between routes 1A and 9, noticed a red fox in a hedge very close to the road. B.G.
Wednesday, January 22. Otis (Map 24), snow fleas (springtails) were like pepper on the snow, especially in the sunny areas; this was the first time this winter that I had noticied them. B.G.
Wednesday-Thursday, January 22-23. Orono (Map 23) The "January Thaw" arrived, but there was almost nothing to melt! Most of the precipitation that has fallen here since mid-December has been sleet or rain. The few light snowfalls have melted within a few days of falling. F.W.
Friday, January 24. Clifton (Map 23) As I was driving along Rte. 9, by the Leon Williams Lumber Mill, I pulled over to observe a mature red-tailed hawk accompanied by a raven, soaring very lazily in the blue skies. B.G.
Sunday, January 26. Orono (Map 23) A male bluejay and a female cardinal engaged in what was apparently a territorial "song battle" from trees on opposite sides of the street. Within a couple of minutes the blue jay flew to the same tree where she was perched and tried physcial intimidation, flying close and perching within a few inches of her. She moved, but continued to occupy positions within the same maple tree. F.W.
Sunday, January 26. Bar Harbor (Map 16) Ground mostly free of ice and snow on the trails and carriage paths of Acadia National Park. However, the strong gusty winds and 15 degree temperature still made hiking a bit of a challenge. J.F.
Lewiston-Auburn, ME Christmas Bird Count, Dec. 21, 1996 5:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Conditions: 20-35 F, wind W at 0-10 mph, snow trace; running water mostly open; still water partly open; a.m. clear; p.m. clear.
Observers: George and Ruth Benjamin, Mary Boutin, Bonnie Bridgham, John and Mary Bussell, Sharon Cimpher, Bruce, Diane, Adam, and Catherine Clukey, Joani and Jude Cyr, Danny Danforth, Hilda Davis, Jody Despres, Joseph Desrochers, Dyke Eusden, David and Marsha (compiler) Haines, Tom Hayward, Merton and Ruth Leavitt, Dan Marquis, Ken Martin, Albert Murch, Roberta Packard, Faunce Pendexter, Judy Schaub, Margery Schuler, Bonnie and Lew Soper, Rick and Kate Speer, Louise Sylvester, Muguette Thompson, Claire and Richard Ward, Debi Warner, Charles and Sarah Wendel (Stanton Bird Club)
Total: 45 species, 3870 individuals
Common Loon 1
Horned Grebe 10
GREEN-WINGED TEAL 1
American Black Duck 19
Mallard 474
Common Goldeneye 10
Hooded Merganser 13
Common Merganser 34
Bald Eagle 4 (mature)
Merlin 1
Ruffed Grouse 2
Wild Turkey 12
Ring-billed Gull 52
Herring Gull 98
Iceland Gull 6
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Rock Dove 397
Mourning Dove 252
Barred Owl 4
Downy Woodpecker 32
Hairy Woodpecker 10
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 150
American Crow 669
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 448
Tufted Titmouse 12
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 25
Brown Creeper 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 400
Northern Cardinal 34
American Tree Sparrow 28
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Sparrow sp. 22
Dark-eyed Junco 25
Snow Bunting 3
Pine Grosbeak 1
Purple Finch 10
House Finch 113
Carpodacus sp. 4
Pine Siskin 8
American Goldfinch 201
House Sparrow 170
Report provided by :
david c. haines
mathematics
bates college
lewiston, maine
dhaines@abacus.bates.edu
From the Press
Bangor Daily News Monday, January 27, 1997, pages B1-2
Cougar reported seen in Pittsfield
Despite 'extinction,' cat sightings frequent
By Brenda Seekins
Of the NEWS Staff
PITTSFIELD -- Neighbors in the North Main Street-Madawaska Road area have been on a cougar watch since the suspected sighting of an Eastern cougar was reported earlier this month.
Louise McCannell was having her morning coffee when she noticed one of the family's three dogs, a usually calm animal, become very alert, hair upright on its back, and looking out the patio door. Immediately after, the other two dogs became agitated. There was a strange animal in the back yard.
"I thought it was a yellow Lab and I was all ready to go out and shoo it away, when I realized it was a cat," McCannell said of the New Year's Day incident.
She returned to her coffee and reading when it dawned on her "that was an awfully big cat," and she took another look.
"It was as big as a dog " she said. The animal had a tail that was almost as long as its body, and was walking in an open field between the house and woods, parallel to the house, she said.
"It stopped in its tracks and looked at me, when I realized it was a mountain lion."
She immediately ran to awaken her son, Jared, who also responded: "That's an awfully big cat." Despite attempts to get the animal on film, the camera was too late and the animal disappeared into the woods.
Later in the day, Japanese students visiting with the McCannells also caught sight of the animal. Again no one was able to catch it on film, only a glimpse through binoculars as it again disappeared into the woods.
McCannell heard from neighbors that they also had seen the animal from a distance the same day and thought it was a dog. It didn't walk like a dog, they said. Later the family discovered it didn't leave tracks like a dog either.
Just last week, McCannell and her husband, Terry, found fresh tracks in the snow around their home, completely circling their house -- round, wide cat tracks, measuring about 5 inches across.
Pittsfield Police Chief Steve Emery looked at the tracks and followed them into the woods. All agreed it was like nothing they had seen before in the area. Emery, a hunter and trapper, said he hadn't seen tracks like that anywhere.
The McCannells notified Maine game wardens who came to investigate, but without hard evidence of a photo or the animal itself, there was no way to determine if the animal could be the Eastern cougar last confirmed in Maine in 1938.
Officially, the Eastern cougar is classified as extinct in Maine. That is except for the 2,000-plus sightings reported since 1938. Annually, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife receives numerous reports of sightings of large cats believed to be a mountain lion or cougar. Since 1990, those reports have totaled more than 150.
In 1994, a group of students in the gifted and talented science program of four high schools in northern Kennebec County began researching the Eastern cougar and documenting reported sightings of "large cats" and mountain lions.
In the initial survey, the students received 72 detailed sightings of the large cat across Maine. Most frequent sightings were in Aroostook, Washington and Penobscot counties. Twenty-one of those sightings occurred in 1994 and early 1995.
As recently as May 1996, cougars allegedly were sighted in Holden and Bucksport. In January, a family in Stetson believed the family dog, a 70-pound chowchow, was mauled and killed by a large cat. Biologists believe the animal was more likely a bobcat, although bobcats are only a quarter the size of cougars, which can weigh up to 150 pounds. Students with the cougar study believe a flawed investigation made a definite determination impossible.
The growth of information has caused wildlife officials to give sightings closer inspection, yet they are not convinced the Eastern cougar has returned to Maine. Louise McCannell was told there are confirmed dens of mountain lions in New Brunswick, and the animals are known to travel up to 100 and 200 miles in search of food. The cougar study also turned up the same information.
The students at Waterville, Winslow, Messalonskee (Oakland) and Lawrence (Fairfield) high schools involved with the cougar study reported the big cats maintain a range of 50 to 60 miles. In 1995-96, the second year of their study, the students documented 114 sightings, most in the counties of Washington (20) and Aroostook (19).
Seven sightings were reported in Somerset County, 11 in Piscataquis and 13 in Penobscot, several of which were fewer than 50 miles from Pittsfield. Students and advisers could not be reached Sunday to discuss more current data.
Biologists with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are willing to concede that some of these sightings could be a mountain lion. But they say it is more likely the cats may be mountain lions turned loose or escaped from captivity, and that the cats are not breeding in the wild.
Regardless of the numerous sightings, anyone involved with the subject is just waiting for the next opportunity, anywhere in the state, in hopes of confirming the reports.
Downeast Birdline has ceased -- discontinuation announcement
Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message
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