You can contribute to a century of community science by signing up for a bird count near you. It’s like a little treasure hunt, and if the birds are rare and unusual, it can be quite exciting.

Since the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) began over a century ago, it has relied on the dedication and commitment of volunteers like you.

 

If you are a beginning birdwatcher, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birder. It is a great opportunity to socialize with other bird enthusiasts.

The CBC is an early-winter bird census where thousands of volunteers go out to count birds. Counts occur in over 2,000 localities throughout the western hemisphere. Counts are organized at the local level, often by a naturalist organization and coordinated in Canada by Bird Studies Canada.

Count volunteers stay within a designated 24km diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear on count day. The data collected by CBC participants over the past 119 years, have become one of only two large pools of information informing us of how the birds of the Americas are faring over time.

If your home is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, then you can stay at home and report the birds that visit your feeders on count day. Prior arrangements with the count compiler must be made in advance.

To participate in the count, or to become a feeder watcher, please go to the Rocky Mountain Naturalists Christmas Bird Count page of our website rockymountainnaturalists.org

This year’s count in Cranbrook is on Saturday December 29, and in Kimberley on Saturday, January 5.

Submitted by Daryl Calder

 

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