[audubon-news] Audubon Announces 104th Christmas Bird Count
- From: "BIANCHI, John" <JBIANCHI@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <audubon-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 11:44:29 -0400
Contact: John Bianchi
212/979-3026
jbianchi@xxxxxxxxxxx
AUDUBON INVITES BIRDERS AND NATURE ENTHUSIASTS
TO TAKE PART IN 104th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Health of Boreal Forest Birds is a Focus of this Year's Count
New York, NY Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - The National Audubon Society calls
upon volunteers everywhere to join with birders across the western hemisphere
and participate in Audubon's longest-running winter-time tradition, the annual
Christmas Bird Count (CBC). This year, nearly 2,000 individual counts are
scheduled to take place throughout the Americas from December 14, 2003 to
January 5, 2004.
During this year's count, Audubon scientists are highlighting the fact that
many of the birds to be counted are produced in the great North American boreal
forest, extending from Alaska to Eastern Canada. At the close of the count,
Audubon will analyze the population status and trends of the birds of the
boreal forests to see how these species are faring. Boreal species that appear
to be declining that have been commonly seen on CBCs include Belted Kingfisher,
Northern Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch,
Pine Siskin, and especially Rusty Blackbird.
CBC began over a century ago when 27 conservationists in 25 localities, led by
scientist Frank Chapman, changed the course of ornithological history. On
Christmas Day 1900, the small group of conservationists posed an alternative to
the "side hunt," a Christmas day activity in which teams competed to see who
could shoot the most birds and small mammals. Instead, Chapman proposed to
identify, count, and record all the birds they saw, founding what is now
considered to be the most significant citizen-based conservation effort and a
more than century-old institution.
Today, over 55,000 volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province,
parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific
islands count and record every individual bird and bird species seen in a
specified area. During the 103rd count, about 73 million birds were counted.
Thanks in part to Bird Studies Canada, a leading not-for-profit conservation
organization that is Canadian partner for the CBC, last year again saw a record
high - this time, 1,981 individual counts. Each count group completes a census
of the birds found during one 24-hour period between December 14 and January 5
in a designated circle 15 miles in diameter-about 177 square miles.
Apart from its attraction as a social and competitive event, CBC reveals
valuable scientific data. Now in its 104th year, CBC is larger than ever,
expanding its geographical range and accumulating information about the winter
distributions of various birds, and it is vital in monitoring the status of
resident and migratory birds across the Western Hemisphere. The data, 100%
volunteer generated, have become a crucial part of the U. S. Government's
natural history monitoring database. Articles published in the 103rd CBC issue
of American Birds helped ornithologists better understand the magnitude of the
effects of West Nile virus on regional bird populations. In addition, count
results from 1900 to the present are available through Audubon's website
www.audubon.org/bird/cbc .
"Backed with over a century of participation and collected data, the Christmas
Bird Count is the longest-running, volunteer-based bird census, spanning three
human generations," said Geoff LeBaron, Director of Christmas Bird Count. "The
CBC has evolved into a powerful and important tool, one probably inconceivable
to any of the 27 participants on the first Christmas Bird Count. With
continually growing environmental pressures, it seems likely that today's
participants cannot possibly fathom the value of their efforts now and in the
next century."
CBC compilers enter their count data via Audubon's website
www.audubon.org/bird/cbc or Bird Studies Canada's homepage www.bsc-eoc.org,
where the 104th Count results will be viewable in near real-time. Explore this
information for the winter of 2003-2004 or visit a count from the past. See if
and how the state of your local birds has changed during the last 25...50...or
100 years.
Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat
that supports them. Our national network of community-based Audubon nature
centers and chapters, environmental education programs, and advocacy on behalf
of areas sustaining important bird populations engage millions of people of all
ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
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