presented. Common names of species are used except where accepted common 

 names do not exist. Taxonomic names of all species mentioned are given in the 

 appendix to chapter 1. 



DATA SOURCES 



Information for this chapter was obtained from books and other published and 

 unpublished souces. Breeding population trends were determined from data 

 provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Cooperative Breeding 

 Bird Survey (Robbins and Van Velzen 1974) . Wintering population trends were 

 obtained from Audubon Christmas Bird Counts published in American Birds 

 (formerly Audubon Field Notes ) . Miscellaneous records for accidental 

 visitants and rare breeders were accumulated from Maine Field Naturalist , 

 American Birds , Maine Birds (Palmer 1949), and an Annotated Checklist of Maine 

 Birds (Vickery 1978). Data on regional distribution were derived from 

 Cruickshank (1950), Bond (1971), Knight (1908), Maine Field Naturalist , (1946- 

 1969), and personal field experience. The Woodcock Management Plan (Corr et 

 al. 1977a) and statistics from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and 

 Wildlife (MDIFW) were examined for woodcock information. The distribution of 

 each breeding bird species is currently (1979) being mapped by the Maine 

 Breeding Bird Atlas program in cooperation with Bowdoin College. 



SEASONAL OCCURRENCE 



Most species (approximately 90%) of terrestrial birds found in Maine are 

 migratory and are only present part of the year. Because of this, birds can 

 be grouped according to their seasonal occurrence. The largest group consists 

 of the 95 species that only are present during the breeding season (late 

 spring and summer), and then migrate south of Maine for winter (table 16-1). 

 The second largest group (51 species) consists of permanent residents; birds 

 present in Maine throughout the year (table 16-2) . Since the permanent 

 residents also breed in Maine, the total number of terrestrial bird species 

 breeding in Maine is approximately 145. It should be noted that many 

 permanent resident species are also migratory, and while the species may be 

 present year round, the same individuals may not be. Some individuals that 

 breed in Maine migrate south for winter and are replaced by individuals that 

 breed further north. A third group of birds is the winter residents (15 

 species; table 16-3). For the most part these are birds that breed further 

 north (i.e., snowy owls and northern finches) and are present in Maine only 

 during winter. The last group consists of 10 species that occur in Maine only 

 during spring and/or fall migration (table 16-4). An important species in 

 this group is the peregrine falcon, an endangered species. Small numbers of 

 peregrines are observed each year along the coast of Maine as they migrate 

 from breeding areas in northern Canada to wintering areas in the southern 

 United States. Peregrines are usually seen along the marine shorline; over 

 salt marshes, tidal mudflats, beaches, and on offshore islands. They are also 

 observed from mountains along migration routes used by raptors. Peregrines 

 occur in Maine from mid-March through mid-May during spring migration, and 

 from mid-August through mid-November on the fall migration. They feed on 

 large songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl that are abundant along the coast 

 during migration. 



16-2 



