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Audubon's 112th Christmas Bird Count Reigns As Model For Crowd Science
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The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count will take place from December 14 to January 5. Tens of thousands of volunteers throughout North America will brave winter weather to add a new layer to over a century of data.
"Audubon was a social network before the world ever heard the term," notes David Yarnold, Audubon President & CEO. "Each December the buzz from our social network goes up a few decibels, as people with the knowledge and the passion for birds provide what no organization alone can."
"It's a globally recognized example of crowd-science," says Gary Langham, Audubon's Chief Scientist, who took his young daughter and wife on last year's CBC. "Audubon's Christmas Bird Count is also a tradition that does good things for families, communities, and the conservation movement."
Scientists rely on the remarkable trend data of Audubon's CBC to better understand how birds are faring in North America and beyond our borders.
“Bird enthusiasts, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists, will head out on an annual mission - often before dawn - to make a difference and to see nature firsthand,” said Dan Brauning, Game Commission Wildlife Diversity Division chief. “Each year, volunteers brave snow, wind, or rain, to take part in the Christmas Bird Count, and they have made enormous contributions to bird conservation continent-wide while doing so.
“The data collected through this effort – which is the longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations – allows researchers, conservation biologists, and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys, such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.”
Doug Gross, Game Commission ornithologist, noted that the CBC makes and indispensable contribution to conservation because it monitors bird species that spend winters in Pennsylvania.
“Some of these species are much easier to count or monitor in winter because their breeding ground is so far north in areas where there are few people or roads to give access to habitat,” Gross said. “An example of this is the rusty blackbird that migrates from the boreal taiga forests of Canada and Alaska to the southeastern United States in winter. Pennsylvania is on the northern edge of its winter range, and some CBCs do count this declining wetland songbird. Hawks also are more easily counted in winter and our state is a good place to see several hawk species in winter, including red-tailed hawks and rough-legged hawks.”
Gross also noted that the CBC is a good way to introduce beginners to bird identification. It is much easier to find birds through your binoculars when there are few leaves on the trees to hide them from view.
“There are fewer bird species around in winter than at other times of year, so it is easier to learn bird species identification,” Gross said. “Also, birds are easier to spot because the trees lack the leaves that hide birds from your eyes in spring and summer. In fact, many birders got started in this hobby in winter in a car with more experienced birders on a Christmas count. CBC allows for mentoring in the field. For best results, spend some time scouting your area. Rather than spending a day in the car, get out and walk the back roads and land where you have permission to go birding.
“A wide variety of birds are observed in winter counts including an assortment of songbirds and our upland game birds, which are mostly residents. It is a challenge, for instance, to find a ruffed grouse on a CBC in many circles. People go out of their way to find a wintering woodcock around spring seeps, in wet pastures, or along streams. Birders learn more about habitat associations and the value of cover and food sources to birds, such as winterberry, rose hips and sumac. Bluebirds, hermit thrushes, and American robins are often found in grape arbors, sumac patches, or other places where wild fruits are located. This year, there is an especially large cone crop of spruce seeds that may attract a number of northern finches, such as crossbills, redpolls and pine siskins.”
Gross also pointed out that the good spruce cone crop from throughout Pennsylvania this summer may attract crossbills to areas of the state they have not been reported recently.
"Data from Audubon's Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds peer-reviewed scientific studies," adds Dr. Langham; "CBC data have informed the U. S. State of the Birds Report, issued by the Department of the Interior, and modeled after Audubon's annual reports begun in 2004. For example, in 2009, CBC analyses revealed the dramatic impact Climate Change is already having on birds across the continent."
"Everyone who takes part in the Christmas Bird Count plays a critical role in helping us focus attention and conservation where it is most needed." said Audubon's Christmas Bird Count Director, Geoff LeBaron. "In addition to Audubon's reports on the impacts of Climate Change on birds and our analysis of Common Birds in Decline, it is the foundation for Audubon's WatchList, which most identified species in dire need of conservation help."
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 when Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore (which evolved into Audubon magazine) suggested an alternative to the "side hunt," in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most game, including birds. Chapman proposed that people "hunt" birds only to count them. Chapman's initiative was described by British actor John Cleese in this video clip from The Big Year.
Last year's count shattered records. A total of 2,215 counts and 62,624 people tallied over 60 million birds. Counts took place in all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. The first ever CBC tally was submitted from Haiti, where the count circle is located at Les Cayes, the birthplace of John James Audubon. In Colombia, the Audubon count is a crucially important monitoring system of biodiversity in the country. More about last year's results here.
Audubon CBC data not only helps identify birds in most urgent need of conservation action; it reveals success stories. The Christmas Bird Count helped document the comeback of the previously endangered Bald Eagle, and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of conservation efforts.
Counts are often family or community traditions that make for fascinating stories. Accuracy is assured by having new participants join an established group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.
Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle or can arrange in advance to count the birds at home feeders inside the circle and submit the results to a designated compiler. All individual Christmas Bird Counts are conducted between December 14 and January 5 (inclusive) each season, with each individual count occupying a single calendar day.
For more information, visit the Christmas Bird Count webpage.
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12/12/2011 |
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