It’s the biggest event in the birding year – the traditional Christmas Bird Count to be held on the Lake Chapala shoreline on Friday, December 14.
This will be the seventh annual count for local birders and the 113th for the National Audubon Society.
The count is conducted in more than 2,000 localities across Canada, the United States and Latin America and is a tradition for more than 50,000 birders each year. The survey (the oldest and largest wildlife survey in the world) is sponsored by the National Audubon Society that also publishes the results. Each count covers a circular area 15 miles in diameter. The object is to identify and count both the species of birds within the circle and the numbers of individual birds within each species.Each team includes a leader, a recorder and about five other observers. Birding experience is not required. The coordinators put skilled birders and beginners together in small teams who walk and/or drive their designated section of the count area. Just having an extra set of eyes increases the efficiency of each party in the field. Binoculars are a big help. So are an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to search quietly and patiently for our illusive feathered friends.
All interested persons, whether they were counting birds or not, will gather at the end of the day for the Count Dinner for post-count reporting and to hear about all the unusual sightings and rare birds that always occur.
If you want to participate in the Ajijic Christmas Bird Count, contact coordinators John and Rosemary Keeling at 766-1801 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..