|
Ever heard of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count? It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors and observe wildlife during winter! Anyone can participate, and several events will kick off later this week across Montana.
The Christmas Bird Count is a bird census conducted by volunteers in early winter, involving participants in the U.S., Canada and beyond. Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, volunteers go out over a 24-hour period to count birds. The event is open to beginners and experienced birders.
This annual event is the longest-running community science bird project. According to the Audubon Society website, on Christmas Day of 1900, Frank Chapman and 26 other conservationists initiated the Christmas Bird Count as a way of promoting conservation by counting, rather than hunting, birds. Some counts have been running since then, and 126 years later the event spans more than 20 countries in the western hemisphere.
Volunteers in a particular area need to coordinate ahead of time with the local count compiler, who chooses a day, and they all count within established 15-mile-diameter circles. Following specific routes, people count every bird they see or hear and record the data. If you live within a circle, you can also count birds that visit your bird feeder.
If you are a beginner, you may want to join established birders. There are also helpful phone apps like Merlin or eBird that can help you to identify birds and enter data, and several printed bird guides are available. A participant webinar is available on the Audubon website.
Some Audubon Chapters in Montana host counts for their areas. Contact your area chapter to sign up or visit the Audubon website for more information.
The Montana Audubon website lists several events, some that have already happened and others that are still upcoming:
Southeast Montana-Miles City
Contact: Jennifer Muscha: jenmuscha@midrivers.com