January 30, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (505) 983-4609
Count for the Future:
The 12th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
Feb 13-16th 2009
Bird Classes at the Randall Davey Audubon Center
Santa Fe, New Mexico - the
Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
and the National Audubon Society will take place on February 13-16th. The
Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers
of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds
are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers
to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as
long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps
the birds. Will bird
watchers outdo themselves again this year and surpass last year's all-time
record? Last year, 85,000 participants identified an unprecedented 634 species
and sent in thousands of stunning bird images from around the continent.
Residents of New Mexico can get involved by performing their own counts at their
homes, local parks, schools or other areas and then recording the information on
www.birdcount.org. For more information on the GBBC and how to get involved
look online at www.birdcount.org.
Santa Fe residents are
invited to join us at the Randall Davey Audubon Center on Saturday, February 14th,
at 8:15 to join our regular bird walk and count birds here with us. We need your
help to help record the amazing species here at the Center!
Scientists
and bird enthusiasts can learn a great deal by knowing where the birds are. Bird
populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or
team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements
of so many species in such a short time. This is a wonderful opportunity for
local residents to be involved with meaningful citizen science.
In addition
to supporting the Great Backyard Bird Count, the Randall Davey Audubon Center
will host a series of bird classes beginning on Wednesday, February 18th,
from 6:30-8:30 pm. Steve Shunk, who
recently completed the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America,
will present and interesting program on the Woodpeckers of New Mexico. Shunk
will interpret the lives and times of the 13 species of woodpeckers occurring
regularly in New Mexico. The class will be followed by a field birdwalk on
Saturday, February 21st from 8:30-10:30 am. The evening class is $10 and the
Saturday session is $30 per person. Please call and reserve you place for this
fascinating class.
The year-long bird series
will then continue at Audubon on the 3rd Thursday evening and 3rd
Saturday morning of each month. Call Linda Newberry, 505-983-4609 for more
information and to sign up. Audubon recently celebrated its 25th year
at the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe, and our mission is to conserve
and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their
habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
We hope you will join us to
learn more about the birds of the area, while contributing to this nation-wide
inventory. For more information, please call:
Linda Newberry, Center Manager
Randall Davey Audubon Center
P.O. Box 9314
Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-983-4609, ext. 32
lnewberry@audubon.org
http://nm.audubon.org