I wholeheartedly concur with Paul in this instance. CBC data is at best rather
soft and I've never viewed the importance of CBCs through a data collection
lens. As Paul suggests, CBCs offer a great path to building community, sharing
a joint experience that is rooted in covering the local patch more thoroughly
than normal, sharing laughter and stories after, and of course breaking bread
with kindred souls around the holiday season before we have to march off to
family gatherings and workplace Christmas parties that are in some cases
infinitely less FUN.
In recent years Shawneen and I have targeted counts that may be a bit
challenged to attract observers or those whose circles are not rife with
birding hotspots. We've done the Cowlitz-Columbia count a couple of times and
we've now done the Lyle, Washington (covers the Oregon side of the river around
The Dalles as well) three times and we very much enjoyed the inaugural Yamhill
County CBC two years ago. When I lived in Eugene, I did the Brownsville CBC
annually for roughly a decade. These counts rarely attract more than 20-30
total observers, but each boasts a core group of participants who show up every
year and bird hard no matter the weather. Nearly everyone knows their sector
and the patches within it intimately.
Before my family moved to Oregon in 1970, we did two local counts in northern
Indiana ever year. The South Bend count usually managed to eke out just over 50
species and the Southeastern LaPorte County count rarely topped 45 species. It
was always cold, the water was always frozen and there was usually snow on the
ground and not a leaf on a tree. The birding was challenging and at times
downright bleak, but the food at the after parties for those counts made it all
worth while. After moving to Oregon it was the Sauvie Island CBC was that
spawned some of the best CBC memories. There were about 20-30 of us who showed
up every year to comb the island, the Scappoose Bottoms, Ridgefield, and the
hills above U.S. Hwy 30. Jeff Gilligan was the compiler then. I did the count
with my dad and whoever Jeff sent along with us. We'd always stay out until
dark making sure that we always came back with a Short-eared Owl on our day
list, a tradition that I endeavor to maintain whenever I can. Back then the
Sauvie Island count typically got between 115 and 120 species and one year hit
130, which tied Medford the state's high count that year.
The idea of Sauvie Island being the state's top count for species seems
ludicrous by today's standards, but this was long before the Coos Bay CBC was
as intense or as organized as it is today and the Portland CBC was barely
cracking 100 species in those days. Tillamook Bay was mostly run by a core
group older guys (about the age I am now) who never started too early or birded
too late and rarely went owling. It was not until Owen Schmidt took over
compiling that count that it really started realizing its potential in terms of
species counts. Although Owen has raised the bar, some of my fondest birding
memories involve sitting around motel rooms at the "El Rancho" on the eve of
the count with the likes of Bill Thackaberry (who was the compiler), John
Crowell, Jim Olson, Gilligan, Mark Koninendyke, Donald McDonald. There was
usually a half gallon jug of Black Velvet and other spirits being passed around
and the older guys giving us youngsters an appropriate ration of good-natured
ribbing over some of the birds that we would report. The next morning we'd
convene at the "Big Cheese" restaurant for omelettes, hash browns and crappy
coffee before heading out into the field. I don't remember a whole lot about
the birds seen on most of these counts, but I do remember the people (many of
them no longer with us), some good food, and knowing as early as seven or eight
years old that CBCs would be something I would be doing for the rest of my
life.
I am an ardent user of eBird, but a database cannot spawn a community or
replace the unique shared experiences of doing CBCs.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
From: paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [obol] Re: CBC question
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2015 20:27:15 -0700
Alan et al,
The reason I've done nearly ALL of Oregon's Christmas Bird Counts is because
I ENJOY doing them. I enjoy meeting new people, visiting new locales,
seeing how each location does it. It's the camaraderie, the competition,
the challenge of finding a Virginia Rail in the snow, or pulling out a
Harris' Sparrow.
And it's the chili afterward.
Data? I'll let someone else argue about that.
dBird doesn't follow the same protocol in the same place with a lot of the
same people looking for the same birds for the last two score of years...and
following those who did it for a couple lifetimes before we ever started...
Paul Sullivan
========================
Subject: CBC question
Date: Thu Oct 15 2015 18:15 pm
From: acontrer56 AT gmail.com
Query: In the era of ebird, with vast piles of winter bird distribution data
available, has the Christmas Bird Count run its natural life span?
Discuss.
...
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
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