LEWISTON — The Stanton Bird Club of Lewiston and Auburn will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, in Room 285 at the USM Lewiston-Auburn College, 55 Westminster St.

The subject will be “Fishers,” presented by Ben Nugent. The Club will also host the annual Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, Dec. 17. The meetings and Bird Count are free and open to everyone.

Nugent has been employed as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services program in Maine since 2006. Prior to that, he worked for the Institute for Wildlife Studies in California, the National Park Service in Tennessee and as a fishing guide in Alaska. Nugent grew up in Vermont and graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in wildlife biology.

The presentation will focus on the natural history of the fisher. The fisher is a member of the weasel family and is found only in North America. Although fishers are common at present in Maine, they are rare in parts of the northwest, and have been successfully reintroduced into about a dozen states and provinces. They travel many miles along ridges in search of prey, seeking shelter in hollow trees, logs, rock crevices and dens of other animals. Fishers are one of the few predators of porcupines and also eat rabbits and rodents, as well insects, nuts and berries. Their largely nocturnal and secretive lifestyle, along with their fierce attacks and blood-curdling screams, make them fascinating creatures. Nugent will share a story about a rare and exciting experience that he had with a fisher along one of the trails within Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary.

The Christmas Bird Count, held on Saturday, Dec. 17, is an annual event sponsored by the Stanton Bird Club for more than 30 years. It is part of an international event to count birds throughout North America. This count is 117 years old. Each individual count is performed in a 15-mile diameter “count circle.” The center of the local circle is Bates College. The club’s circle is divided in six sectors, three in Lewiston and three in Auburn. Every bird seen in the sector is counted, and the more people participating results in seeing more birds.

While some kinds of birds are seen in large number, as might be expected, there is an often unexpected discovery, which gives a sense of adventure to the activity. The Stanton group averages sighting about 50 species each year at the Christmas Bird Count. Last year more than 4,000 birds were counted by the local group on their count day. For a sample of the 50 species, the largest numbers found, as would be expected, were the rock pigeon, American crow, mallard duck, European starling and the chickadee. Some of the more exciting discoveries that were found in smaller numbers were the ruffed grouse, Cooper’s hawk, common raven, pileated woodpecker and the red-tailed hawk.

Each sector leader helps identify the birds seen and records the findings. The day begins about 7 a.m., and the counting continues to around 4 p.m. Most of the birding is done by driving between known locations and then jumping out of the car to locate birds and count them. In the evening the whole group meets to tally up the findings of the six sectors. Then results are later reported and correlated with the larger international project and the findings are published.

The Stanton Bird Club is made up of people from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, but they all share a love of nature in general, and birds in particular. Today there are some 300 club members, including 20 Junior Naturalists. The Club manages the Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary as well as the Woodbury Nature Sanctuary in Monmouth and Litchfield.

FMI: www.StantonBirdClub.org, www.facebook.com/Stanton-Bird-Club-124412894909/?fref=ts.