Bird Checklist

Lake Umbagog
National Wildlife Refuge

Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at: http://www.fws.gov
or call 1 800/344 WILD.
Hearing impaired visitors may call the Federal Relay Service at: 1 800/877 8339.

Contact Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge
lakeumbagog@fws.gov

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(Including the adjacent areas of Cambridge, Dixville, Dummer, Errol, Millsfield, Second College Grant, and Wentworth Location, New Hampshire, and Grafton Township, Magalloway Plantation, and Upton, Maine)

Bird List

Birding in the area: Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 to protect and conserve wetlands and wetland associated wildlife, and to provide feeding, resting and nesting habitat for migratory birds. Located in northeastern New Hampshire and western Maine, it includes most of the shore line of Umbagog Lake, large marshes, bogs and fens, and hardwood and boreal forest uplands. The refuge and adjacent lands lie at the headwaters of the Androscoggin River and accept the flow of the Magalloway, Rapid, and Dead Cambridge Rivers. It is one of the most productive breeding areas for common loons, ducks (particularly common goldeneye and ring-necked ducks), bald eagles, osprey, and other wetland species in the State of New Hampshire. Boreal species such as black-backed woodpecker, gray jay, and boreal chickadee are fairly common in the spruce-fir habitat, where spruce grouse can also be found. Moose are abundant on the refuge.

Refuge access is primarily by boat. Birding is best in May and June for warblers, loons, breeding ducks, and raptors. April, May, and August through November are the best months for observing migrants (primarily waterfowl, sandpipers, and warblers). Binoculars and a spotting scope are recommended for birding at Umbagog Lake.

Bird life in the Umbagog region has been studied since the late 1800s. More historical bird data exists for this area than any other area in northern New England. Please help us by reporting sightings of species not listed, rare species or species with unconfirmed breeding status. Sightings should be reported to Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 240, Errol, NH 03579; Phone: (603) 482-3415 or The Audubon Society of New Hampshire, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301; Phone: (603) 224-9909. Thank you.

This list contains 229 species that have been observed on the refuge. The list is in accordance with the seventh American Ornithologists' Union checklist.

Bird List Key

Sp Spring March 16-May 31

S Summer June 1-July 31

F Fall August 1-November 15

W Winter November 16-March 15

Abundance codes indicate likelihood of observing species in appropriate habitat.

Relative Abundance:

A	Abundant	A species likely to be seen in numbers
C	Common	At least a few are likely to be seen
U	Uncommon	Present, but not certain to be seen
O	Occasional	Seen only a few times during a season
R	Rare	May be present but not seen every year
V	Vagrant	Has occurred in intervals greater than 10 years

Status:

M	Migrant	Not considered a breeder
PR	Permanent Resident	Assumed to breed
SR	Summer Resident	Not known to breed
WR	Winter Resident	Not known to breed
B	Breeds	On or near the refuge
I	Irruptive	Numbers fluctuate erratically, usually based on food availability

Common Name	Status	SP	S	F	W
Loons
Red-throated Loon	M			R
Common Loon	B	C	C	C	R
Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe	M	U	R	U
Horned Grebe	M	R		U
Red-Necked Grebe	M	R		U
Cormorants
Double-Crested Cormorant	M	U	O	U
Great Cormorant	M			R
Bitterns, Herons and Egrets
American Bittern	B	U	U	U
Great Blue Heron	B	C	C	C
Green Heron	M	R	R	R
New World Vultures
Turkey Vulture	SR	U	U	U
Geese and Ducks
Snow Goose	M	R		O
Canada Goose	B	C	U	C
Wood Duck	B	C	C	C
American Wigeon	M	R		R
American Black Duck	B	C	C	C	R
Mallard	B	C	C	C	R
Blue-winged Teal	B	O	O	U
Northern Shoveler	M	R		R
Northern Pintail	M	R		R
Green-winged Teal	B	C	O	C
Ring-necked Duck	B	C	C	C
Greater Scaup	M	R		R
Lesser Scaup	M	R		R
Surf Scoter	M	R		O
White Winged Scoter	M	R		O
Black Scoter	M	R		U
Long-tailed Duck	M	R		R
Bufflehead	M	O		O
Common Goldeneye	PR	C	U	U	R
Barrow's Goldeneye	M	O			R
Hooded Merganser	PR	C	U	U	R
Common Merganser	PR	C	U	C	O
Red-breasted Merganser	M	V		R
Osprey, Hawks and Eagles
Osprey	B	C	C	U
Bald Eagle	PR	U	U	U	O
Northern Harrier	B	U	U	U
Sharp-shinned Hawk	PR	U	U	U	O
Cooper's Hawk	PR	R	R	R	R
Northern Goshawk	PR	O	O	O	O
Red-shouldered Hawk	SR	R	R
Broad-winged Hawk	B	U	C	C
Red-tailed Hawk	B	U	O	U	R
Rough-legged Hawk	M			R	R
Golden Eagle	M			R	R
Falcons
American Kestrel	B	U	O	C
Merlin	B	O	O	O
Peregrine Falcon	B	O	O	O	R
Gallinaceous Birds
Ruffed Grouse	PR	C	U	C	U
Spruce Grouse	PR	O	O	O	O
Wild Turkey	PR	O	O	O	O
Rails
Virginia Rail	B	U	U	U
Sora	B	O	O	O
Common Moorhen	M	R		R
Plovers
Black-bellied Plover	M	R	R	O
Semi-palmated Plover	M		R	R
Killdeer	B	U	O	O
Sandpipers and Phalaropes
Greater Yellowlegs	M	R	O	O
Lesser Yellowlegs	M			R
Solitary Sandpiper	M	O	O	O
Spotted Sandpiper	B	U	U	U
Sanderling	M			R
Semi-palmated Sandpiper	M	R	R	R
Least Sandpiper	M	U	U	U
Pectoral Sandpiper	M			U
Dunlin	M	R	R	R
Short-billed Dowitcher	M	R	R	R
Common Snipe	B	C	C	C
American Woodcock	B	C	U	U
Red-necked Phalarope	M			R
Gulls and Terns
Bonaparte's Gull	M	R	R	O
Ring-billed Gull	SR	U	U	U
Herring Gull	B	U	U	U
Great Black-backed Gull	M	O	O	O
Common Tern	M	R	R
Black Tern	M	R	R
Pigeons and Doves
Mourning Dove	B	C	C	C	U
Cuckoos
Black-billed Cuckoo	B	O	O	O
Owls
Great Horned Owl	PR	U	U	U	U
Barred Owl	PR	U	U	U	U
Northern Saw-whet Owl	PR	U	O	O	O
Nightjars
Common Nighthawk	M	R		O
Whip-poor-will	SR	R
Swifts
Chimney Swift	B	U	U	O
Hummingbirds
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	B	U	U	U
Kingfishers
Belted Kingfisher	B	C	C	C	R
Woodpeckers
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	B	C	C	U
Downy Woodpecker	PR	C	C	C	U
Hairy Woodpecker	PR	C	C	C	U
Black-backed Woodpecker	PR	U	U	U	U
Northern Flicker	B	C	C	C
Pileated Woodpecker	PR	U	U	U	U
Tyrant Flycatchers
Olive-sided Flycatcher	B	U	U	O
Eastern Wood Peewee	B	C	C	U
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	B	U	U	O
Alder Flycatcher	B	C	C	U
Least Flycatcher	B	C	U	U
Eastern Phoebe	B	U	U	U
Great Crested Flycatcher	B	U	U	O
Eastern Kingbird	B	U	U	U
Shrikes
Northern Shrike	I	R		O	O
Vireos
Blue-headed Vireo	B	C	C	C
Warbling Vireo	B	R	R
Philadelphia Vireo	B	R	R	O
Red-eyed Vireo	B	C	A	C
Crows and Jays
Gray Jay	PR	U	U	U	C
Blue Jay	PR	C	C	C	U
American Crow	PR	C	C	C	U
Common Raven