Join the Christmas Bird Count
By Marilyn Shy, Kalkaska Conservation District
If you like to watch birds either at your feeders or even when you’re just walking in the woods, your observations can help make a difference by adding to the body of knowledge regarding their locations and relative abundance.
The Audubon Society holds an annual bird count each December called the Christmas Bird Count, or CBC, for short. This year will be the 120th year it is hosting this event. The CBC takes place all over the United States, Canada, and other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Thousands of volunteers go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count the birds they see or hear. This year the CBC will be conducted between the dates of Saturday, December 14, 2019, and Sunday, January 5, 2020.
The good news is that anyone can participate. In fact, it is a great way to team up with experienced birders to learn more about identifying birds in the field.
Each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle and is organized by a count compiler. If you are interested in participating, your first step is to locate a circle near you. There is a map view of circles available on Audubon’s web page at www.audubon.org. It lists the names and contact information for each of the count compilers. Contact the count compiler in the area in which you would like to participate to find out more information on the exact date of the count in your area.
If your home is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, then you can stay at home and report the birds that visit your feeder on the count day, as long as you have made prior arrangements with the count compiler.
Another way you can get involved with reporting the birds you see is to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count or the GBBC. This event takes place on President’s Day Weekend each February. You can count the birds each day in your backyard and then enter the results online. The next GBBC will take place from Friday, February 14 until Monday, February 17, 2020. Participants count birds for a minimum of 15 minutes on one of the count days. Or you can choose to count for as long as you like on one or more days of the 4-day time period. The sky’s the limit!
Each report submitted during the CBC and GBBC helps researchers learn more about how birds are doing. Birds are so mobile that their populations are always shifting and changing. For example, in 2014 the GBBC data showed a large irruption of Snowy Owls across the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and Great Lakes area of the United States. The data also showed the effects of increasing warm weather patterns on bird movements around the country.
If you like to watch birds, feed birds, and identify birds, then get involved in citizen science by participating in one of these events! Just a few minutes or hours of your observations can help bird research in your area and around the globe.
For questions or comments, you may contact the National Audubon Society at citizenscience@audubon.org. And Happy Birding!