I plan to attend all 3.
On Oct 15, 2020, at 2:53 PM, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings All:
It has taken me awhile to get this first announcement out this year
... as I have been awaiting some guidance from the powers that be with
regards to how to get CBCs done safely this year. What guidance they
have given is pretty straightforward and we will comply.
For getting to meeting points: no carpooling unless you are part of an
ongoing quaranteam - there is no way to socially distance within a
vehicle.
For covering routes: the same - there is no way to socially distance
within a vehicle.
For countdowns: no gatherings within enclosed spaces.
The Lubbock County CBC will be held on 19 December 2020; the Muleshoe
NWR CBC will be held on 20 December 2020; the White River Lake CBC
will be held on 2 January 2021.
The plan for the Lubbock County count is to assign the large outlying
areas to single observer teams. This is how it has worked out the
last few years anyway so this is not a big deal. As there has been a
lot of interest in the count this year, I intend to divide the in-town
area (including the Canyon Lakes) into smaller areas and assign one
experienced leader to each of these smaller areas. Each experienced
leader can caravan with another observer as it is relatively easy to
manage two vehicle caravans. At the end of the day, the leaders will
turn the paperwork over to me at my place. Shortly thereafter I will
run a solo countdown and get the results out to everybody who
participated (via leasbirds) as soon as I can.
FOR THIS TO WORK, I need to hear from everybody who wants to
participate - as soon as is possible - so that I can start dividing
the circle up and assigning folks to two-person teams. If there is
sufficient interest I can divide Lubbock itself into as many as ten
areas, accomodating a large number of observers. If we get enough
in-town observers, this may actually result in an improvement in
coverage over the average year!
Muleshoe NWR is divided into four areas. Ideally, we will have no
more than eight participants as the refuge has some restrictions on
gatherings this year. We will not have access to the house and, as
the refuge lacks personnel for cleaning the campground facilities, the
only restroom available is the one at Paul's Lakes. We will meet at
the HQ at 7:30, I will hand out paperwork to the two-person teams, and
we will bird, caravaning - no carpooling, until noon. At that point I
will gather up the papers and when I get home I will perform a solo
countdown and get the results out to folk as soon as I can.
The White River Lake CBC is divided into five areas. We will have
access to the marina and restroom facilities are available. We will
meet at the marina at 7:30 and I will hand out the paperwork to the
team leaders. Teams will cover their areas by caravaning unless they
are part of an ongoing quaranteam. We will bird until 4:30 at which
point team leaders will meet back up with me at the marina, turn over
their papers, and I will go home, run a solo countdown, and get the
information out to folk as soon as I can.
Rare bird reports 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.
If you wish to participate (and I hope a lot of folk do) contact me as
soon as possible. I can be reached at fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx or at
806-252-1213. Birders at all levels of experience are welcome and,
though I will very much miss the social aspects of the count (the
potlucks, the countdowns, etc ...), we can still get them done.
Anthony Hewetson,
CBC Compiler,
Llano Estacado Audubon Society.
