Christmas Bird Count

It is Christmas Bird Count season. This is one of the longest citizen science projects in existence. 117 years ago ornithologist Frank Chapman converted folks from a horrendous tradition of the “Side Hunt” (where teams would shoot and collect as many bird and mammal carcasses as they could) to now counting and not disturbing the birds. An interesting history of this census can be found here. This is a National Audubon sanctioned event occurring from December 14 th through Jan 5 th. A group of at least 10 volunteers count all the birds seen or heard in a 15 mile diameter circle by going out in teams on specified routes and at the end of the 24-hour period tally and compile the data which is sent to National Audubon. It is great fun and you can participate as much or as little as you like. Look for one near you or go to the National Audubon website to find one.