Get Outdoors for the Birds

Beach to Bayou - December 2019

Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count paints a one-day portrait of bird populations – and you can help!
 
- Story by Dena Temple, photos by Dena and John Temple
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The author and teammate Debra Stewart scan the bay waters for loons and sea ducks during the Christmas Bird Count.

It’s December. The days are short, the nights are chilly, and you’re tired of staring at the television or your computer screen waiting for spring. You’re longing for an excuse to get outdoors to enjoy the cool weather – and we may have just the answer for you: grab a pair of binoculars and participate in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
 
The National Audubon Society sponsors the international Christmas Bird Count program. With count circles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and a number of other countries, this “citizen science” project is the oldest and largest of its kind.
 
The event began, surprisingly, as the “Side Hunt.” In the early days of the hobby, bird-watchers didn’t look for birds with binoculars – they collected birds by shooting them. Hunters chose teams, and the team with the highest kill tally was declared the winner. 

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​As gruesome as this sounds to today’s conservationists, this was the standard for the hobby at the turn of the 20th Century.

This birder is more likely to be scanning for sea ducks than enjoying close-up looks at the Great Egret on the pier.

 
In 1900 Frank M. Chapman, an officer of the fledgling National Audubon Society, organized a new event to counter the sport-killing tradition, calling it the “Holiday Census.” The first census involved 27 counters and 25 count circles, and a total of 90 species of birds were counted. In the winter of 2017-18 a record-breaking 77,000 people participated in the annual Christmas Bird Count, tallying birds in 2,585 count circles, also a record. And roughly one-quarter of all species of birds in the world were tallied, yet another amazing feat!
 
Celebrating its 120th year, the event is still sponsored today by the National Audubon Society. “The Christmas Bird Count is a great tradition and an opportunity to be a part of 120 years of ongoing community science,” said Geoff LeBaron, Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count director, who started leading the community science effort in 1987. “Adding your observations to twelve decades of data helps scientists and conservationists discover trends that make our work more impactful.”

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Here’s how it works: A circular area 15 miles in diameter is defined. This “count circle” is divided into territories, and teams of volunteers scour those territories and count every bird they see or hear. Common or rare, every single bird is important on the Christmas Bird Count!
 
After spending an invigorating day scanning fields, ponds and beaches, the teams get together for a “roundup” to compare notes, brag about interesting finds and commiserate about “the ones that got away.” It’s a great way to meet people who share your interest in the outdoors, and maybe learn a little something in the process.

A day in the field is infinitely better than a day indoors! Above, the author (l) shares sightings with friends and teammates Debra Stewart (c) and Dale Temple (r).

Husband and fellow CBC counter John Temple enjoys a trifecta: great birds, good friends, and a rainbow at the end of a wet day.

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There are 20 count circles in the state of Mississippi, including one in our immediate area, the Southern Hancock County circle. Counters have been tallying birds in this territory since 1976. In 2018, the 32 counters in the Southern Hancock count circle tallied 142 species of birds over the course of the count day – very impressive!
 
Participation is fun, and free. Birders with intermediate or better identification skills are particularly welcome. Beginners are usually paired with a more experienced participant, so you don’t need to be intimately familiar with your territory in order to enjoy the event.
 

START COUNTING: Snow Geese rarely linger in Hancock County into late December, but flocks of hundreds or thousands can be found through the winter in SW Louisiana. | Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons

 
This year, the Southern Hancock County CBC will be held on Tuesday, December 17. If you would like more information, contact the compiler, Ned Boyajian, at [email protected].