Christmas Bird Count

National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for the Wichita Falls area is scheduled for December 14. We have a 25-mile circle to complete. We generally break up the circle into 3 sections, each with its own team to count every bird we can find. The team lists are then consolidated and submitted to the Audubon Society. 

The CBC is the longest running citizen science project in the U.S., starting in 1900. On Christmas day of that year, 27 people started the count, in various locations across the country, counting 90 different species. It is now conducted in 20 countries in the western hemisphere.

If I remember correctly, our CBC has be held since 1954.

I'll be starting at 7:00 AM and bird pretty much all day. It is a combination of driving and walking. The other two teams have their own schedule, but are similar to mine. People can also count at their feeders. The data compiler needs to know who is taking part in order to make arrangements to get the data to add to the report. If the weather is so bad that we are unlikely to find many birds or it is unsafe to drive, the count will be rescheduled to the following weekend.

If you would like to take part in this year's CBC, whether for an hour or an entire day, contact me at txbirds@gmail.com.