Greetings All:
The guidances, from CBC central, remain the same (though I do not know
what will happen over the next few weeks): no carpooling to, during,
or from CBCs ... unless you are part of an ongoing quaranteam - no
gatherings within enclosed spaces - limited meetings to plan counts,
gather count sheets, or gather supporting documents.
The Lubbock County CBC will be held on 19 December 2020 ... and is our
chance to shine as I can divide the circle up into as many routes as
needed to accommodate volunteers. Teams will get their assignments
ahead of time and will send their tallies to me on-line or will drop
them off at my house. I will run the count-down, such as it is, on my
own and will try to get information out to the listserv as quickly as
possible.Teams will be permitted provided that they are caravining. I
am going to assign large outlying routes to single observer teams. I
can use as many people as want to volunteer and will try to create
in-town teams of two composed of an experienced observer and a
beginner as much as is possible. Currently, I have the following
volunteers (Manuel De Leon, Drew Harvey, Anthony Hewetson, Greg
Joiner, Barry Keith, Phillip Kite, Rob Lee, William Wenthe, Lena
Zappia) AND COULD USE A LOT MORE.
The Muleshoe NWR CBC will be held on 20 December 2020 ... and is
subject to a lot of restrictions. We will meet at the residence
(though we will not be allowed to use the residence - no potluck this
year) at 7:30, will bird until noon, will meet up so I can gather
packets, and will head on back to Lubbock. The only restroom
available is the one at Paul's Lakes overlook. The permit will be
restricted to eight observers so I need eight experienced observers
who are capable of quite a bit of hiking (though we will leave one
person back at base to work the headquarters area). Currently, I have
the following volunteers (Manuel De Leon, Drew Harvey, Anthony
Hewetson, Greg Joiner, Barry Keith, Phillip Kite, and Rob Lee) AND
COULD USE AT LEAST ONE MORE STRONG BIRDER/HIKER.
The White River Lake CBC will be held on 2 January 2021. It is
divided into three outlying areas (which will get teams of, at most,
two if willing to caravan) and two lakeside teams (which can
accomodate more observers provided they are willing to caravan or
cover different segments of their area). We will meet at the marina
at 7:30 (the marina is open for restrooms and outdoor dining only),
will bird until 4:30, and will meet back at the marina so that I can
pick up paperwork. Currently, I have the following volunteers (Manuel
De Leon, Drew Harvey, Anthony Hewetson, Barry Keith, Phillip Kite,
Rich Kostecke, Rob Lee, and Lena Zappia) AND COULD USE AT LEAST TWO
MORE BIRDERS.
Rare bird forms will be handled as follows: I will have observers fill
out the forms and drop them off at my place OR I will have them fill
out the on-line form and send them to me via e-mail. As most
photographs are digital these days, supporting photographs can also be
sent to me via e-mail.
We can do the Muleshoe NWR and White River Lake CBCs with the
volunteers already on board but can accommodate, SAFELY, a few more.
It is the Lubbock County CBC that can be divided up quite a bit more
and I am hoping to hear from more local birders as soon as possible.
As soon as I have a handle on how many folk want to participate I can
start dividing the in-town chunk of the count into smaller segments.
Oddly, the COVID 19 restrictions could make for better coverage of
town and, given all the cool stuff that is already present in the
region, we could have quite the count!
Please contact me (806-252-1213 or fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx) as soon as
possible so that I can start putting a plan together.
Anthony Hewetson,
CBC Compiler,
Llano Estacado Audubon Society
