LEWISTON – Supporters of Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary picked up another year to complete the first phase of a planned expansion.

A proposed parking lot along Montello Street is smaller than originally proposed, according to Susan Hayward, president of the Stanton Bird Club. Other plans call for a gazebo and a wider trail.

“The perception around town is that our expansion has stalled, or that we’ve been idle,” Hayward said. “That’s not the case. We received our approvals from the city and we’ve been fundraising all along.”

Original plans called for a 45-space parking lot off Montello Street near the entrance to the bird sanctuary and a 3,900-square-foot visitors center. City approval of those plans was set to expire next month.

The parking lot is much smaller now.

“We don’t need room for 45 cars, or anything that large,” Hayward said. The latest plan calls for seven parking spaces, plus two more handicapped accessible spaces.

They hope to build a wider access road and a gazebo near the entrance.

Work will begin next year and should be finished by December 2007. The city Planning Board extended their approvals until then at the board’s Nov. 13 meeting.

“We can start whenever our fundraising allows us to,” she said.

Plans for the visitors center are part of a longer-term second phase, according to City Planner David Hediger.

The visitors center is something Stanton Bird Club members have been trying to build for years. A 2001 plan for a parking lot and gift shop met stiff resistance from neighbors and supporters, and the club canceled its plans. Members spent the past five years working with neighbors, however.

Hayward said the club will continue quiet fundraising efforts now, but plans a more active campaign early next year.