Lake Chapala Birders are conducting this year’s annual Christmas Bird Count on Friday, December 15.
Teams will fan out across the area to count all the species they can find. Results are forwarded to the Audubon Society in the United States to be added to an international database for scientific study. Anyone is welcome to join a counting team and join the celebration dinner afterwards.
Preregistration is necessary to organize the teams. Look for John Keeling wearing his binoculars at the Laguna Mall food court on Tuesday, December 12 and Wednesday, December 13, between 10 a.m. and noon. You can also call him at 766-1801.
Says Keeling: “People used to shoot birds at Christmas – the person who shot the most birds won. Now, we count live birds instead. Every year, from mid-December to early January, teams of birders from Canada to Argentina fan out to count, in a single day, all the birds they can find in their area. The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, the Christmas Bird Count now involves tens of thousands of participants in over 2,300 designated areas. Everyone has a lot of fun while compiling critical data on bird-population trends.”
In addition to getting outside and having fun, the teams compile their bird-count numbers and enter them online. This data, combined with other bird counts throughout the year, enables researchers to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across the Americas.
Combined with other surveys, the data provides a picture of how bird populations have been changing.
Says Keeling: “For instance, we know that American Kestrels, the small, colorful falcons we see at lakeshore, are in steep decline. So whether you’re an experienced or novice birder, come help us count birds on the 15th.”