NATURE NOTES FROM ACADIA

CHRISTMAS BIRD CENSUS FOR 1934

At daybreak on December 24, Mr. Vernon Lunt and I were in the field ready to take the Christmas bird census. For those unfamiliar with this fascinating annual undertaking I will say that on one of the days between December 22 and 27 (both dates inclusive) interested bird-observers spend from four hours to q full day afield listing the feathered life which is seen in an area whose diameter does not exceed 15 miles. The record is then mailed to Bird Lore, a magazine devoted to ornithology, where, if acceptable, it is printed in the January-February number along with many others from the United 3tates and Canada. The results obtained give an admirable cross-section of the winter bird life from coast to coast. This, the 1934 census, is Bird Lore's thirty-fifth Christmas bird census.

At daybreak the mercury stood at 30° and a moderate southwest wind assured us that the day would not grow colder. Two inches of snow, all of which fell on the night before, carpeted the out-of-doors and arrayed the trees and shrubs in wintry splendor. By 10 o'clock in the morning the sun broke through gray clouds and made conditions ideal for bird observation.

Our list for the day was as follows:

This list (26 species) contains two more species than we recorded on last year's Christmas census. Almost half (12) of the birds listed in 1934 were absent from the list of the previous year, while 10 species observed in 1933 do not appear on the 1934 list. The scarcity of woodpeckers and red-breasted nuthatches has been known for many weeks. Hawks and Owls are uncommon to rare at all times. Although Fine Grosbeaks and the two species of Crossbills proved to be commen birds throughout the previous winter, none have been ohserved in more than half-a-year. Whereas no Ring-billed Gulls were listed a year ago, these proved to be common birds on the most recent census. In all probability a large number of the many gulls seen at too great a distance for accurate identification and consequently not included in the list were Herring Gulls - a species far more abundantt han the number seen would indicate. Although known to be in the region, such birds as Buffleheads, Eiders, Robins, Brown Creepers, and others were not observed on the day the census was taken. In view of the scarcity of other raptorial birds, the number of Bald Eagles is gratifying; six of the seven observed were to be seen together near the mud flats at the bridge.

- A. S.