"Nature Guide Journal"
13 December
2001
This will mark the 102nd year for the Christmas Bird Count.
According to its sponsor, the National Audubon Society, over 52,000
people participated in last year's Christmas Bird Count. Many of those
people took a day during this busy season to bundle up and trek out into
the chill rain or snow to count birds.
The first Christmas Bird Count, on Christmas Day, 1900, had only 27
participants sighting and counting birds at 25 sites. Last year the number
of areas sampled, primarily in North America, rose to over 1,800.
Ornithologist Frank Chapman began the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) as an
alternative to the traditional Christmas "Side Hunt" in which
participating groups competed to shoot and kill the largest number of
birds.
A century later, bird-watching is far more popular than bird hunting.
The growth of the CBC has reflected the growing popularity of
"birding," and now includes a Breeding Bird Survey and a
Backyard Bird Count. Similar programs to count other animals, such as
amphibians, have begun to sprout, as well.
Why brave blustery winter weather to count birds? The primary reason is
to gather long-term data on how many of which birds are where. Such data
have documented, for example, the population cycles of American Kestrels
and the rapid expansion of the ranges of doves and pigeons in North
America.
The expert birders that lead the count in each sampling
"circle" typically identify the area's most productive bird
habitats to get the broadest representation of the area's birds. The
official count for each circle often begins before dawn and runs well past
dark to include locating and identifying nocturnal birds.
Besides contributing to valuable research data, CBC participants
usually have a grand time. In many areas, counters spend the day in a
small group with other birders, sharing experiences and camaraderie as
they travel to various key sites to locate, identify, and count as many
species of birds as possible.
Several circles are in our region, including: Florence, Coos Bay,
Coquille Valley, and Port Orford. The Christmas Bird Count takes place
between December 14 and January 5 every year; this Sunday (December 16) is
CBC day in the Coos Bay Area. Each participant's small fee of $5 helps
cover the cost to run the program and report the results; birders under 18
years old are welcome to participate for free.
Experienced birders who would like to become part of our local
"citizen science" by joining Saturday's Christmas Bird Count in
the Coos Bay area, call Tim Roddenkirk, in the evening, 269-4696.
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"Birds are an 'ecological litmus paper.' Because of their
rapid metabolism and wide geographical range, they reflect changes in
the environment quickly; they warn us of things out of balance,
sending out signals whenever there is a deterioration in the
ecosystem..."
-- Roger Tory Peterson
~~~
The National Audubon Society maintains a very informative
site on the Christmas Bird Count,
including contact and report information for CBCs North-America-wide and
with links to pages on other topics about bird watching.
