This column is the last of three reviewing the highlights of some of the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts for the 2007-08 season. The six counts covered today span the breadth of our state.

We'll start with the Misery Township Count, held Dec. 30. This count in the vicinity of The Forks south of Jackman has significantly colder weather than most of the other counts in the state. The species number and bird abundance for this circle are usually quite low but the potential for boreal species is high. This year's count yielded 18 species. Highlights were three Bald Eagles, a Northern Goshawk, two Gray Jays, 75 Pine Grosbeaks and 30 Common Redpolls.

The remoteness of this count is indicated by the fact that a single Rock Pigeon was found. Also, the five American Crows were outnumbered by the 17 Common Ravens.

The most common species was Black-capped Chickadee with 124 birds found. No Boreal Chickadees were counted this year.

The Biddeford-Kennebunkport Count, held Dec. 29, produced a list of 79 species. Two Wood Ducks were the most unusual waterfowl among the 15 species of ducks and geese found. Northern Gannets put on a good show with 20 birds counted. Both cormorants were found, eight Great Cormorants and a single Double-crested.

Four species of diurnal raptors were counted with an American Kestrel being the most unusual for this time of year. Thirty-five Sanderlings were found on the beaches in the count circle and 39 Purple Sandpipers were on rocky headlands.

The alcid diversity was excellent with four species tallied: Two Dovekies, a Thick-billed Murre, three Razorbills and three Black Guillemots.

Barred and Great Horned owls were detected this year. A northern flavor was imparted by the seven Northern Shrikes, three Bohemian Waxwings, and 22 Snow Buntings. Eight finch species were found with the three Red Crossbills, two White-winged Crossbills and three Evening Grosbeaks being particularly notable. Lingering birds from the summer included a Winter Wren, nine Eastern Bluebirds and a Brown-headed Cowbird.

The Jan. 3 Monhegan Island count yielded 46 species. Highlights included a Peregrine Falcon, a Dovekie, a Northern Shrike, three Carolina Wrens, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Fox Sparrow, a Rusty Blackbird and five Common Grackles.

The three counters found 11 Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous Gull to go along with the four Ring-billed Gulls, 80 Herring Gulls, five Great Black-backed Gulls and 54 Black-legged Kittiwakes.

Moving downeast, the Machias-Jonesport count on December 30 resulted in a final tally of 51 species. Four species of dabbling gulls were found. The nine Northern Pintails and single Green-winged Teal were excellent finds among the expected Mallards and American Black Ducks. Sixteen species of waterfowl were found in all. A single Barrow's Goldeneye was a nice find.

Two Double-crested Cormorants lingered and none of our usual winter species, the Great Cormorant, were noted. The only birds of prey were 13 Bald Eagles and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

A Tufted Titmouse was a good sighting as this species continues to expand into the middle third of our state. A Yellow-shafted Flicker was awfully late for this species; most depart the state by November.

Finch abundance was modest with only four species found: 46 Pine Grosbeaks, four Common Redpolls, three Pine Siskins and a lone American Goldfinch.

The final two counts, the Orono-Old Town count (Dec. 15) and the Bangor-Bucksport count (Dec. 29), are interesting to compare because of their proximity. These two counts yielded 49 and 50 species, respectively.

The Penobscot River is a good place for Barrow's Goldeneyes in Maine. Orono counters found 25 to go along with 25 Common Goldeneyes. The Bangor counters found three Buffleheads, an unusual inland sighting for the winter in Maine.

Orono had five species of birds of prey including a Rough-legged Hawk and an American Kestrel. Bangor had three hawk species.

Bangor had an excellent sighting of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Hairy Woodpeckers were more common than Downy Woodpeckers on both counts.

Two Northern Shrikes were found in Orono and three in Bangor. Tufted Titmice showed well with 32 in Bangor and 17 in Orono. Both counts had one Northern Mockingbird.

Orono had a fine count of 638 Bohemian Waxwings but that was dwarfed by the 2,016 Bohemians found in Bangor. A Common Grackle in Orono was late.

Pine Grosbeaks were the most numerous northern finch although both counts also had Purple Finches, Common Redpolls and Evening Grosbeaks.

Herb Wilson teaches ornithology and other biology courses at Colby College. He welcomes reader comments and questions at whwilson@colby.edu. Previous columns and other information on Maine birding can be found at his blog: http://www.mainebirds.blogspot.com.