Hawk-Eyed Volunteers Gearing Up for 114th Audubon Christmas Bird Count

CONTACT: Staci Stevens, Audubon NM, c: 202-294-3101, sstevens@audubon.org

Hawk-Eyed Volunteers Gearing Up for 114th Audubon Christmas Bird Count

From December 14 through January 5, 2014 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations - the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  In over 35 locations in New Mexico, families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission to count birds - often before dawn in the freezing cold. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season.

Each year, the Audubon CBC mobilizes over 70,000 volunteer bird counters in more than 2,300 locations across the Western Hemisphere, from above the Arctic Circle to Brooklyn and Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego. The CBC utilizes the power of volunteers to track the health of bird populations at a scale that professional scientists could never accomplish alone. Every local count is part of this vast volunteer network and continues a tradition that stretches back more than a century.

“From feeder-watchers and field observers to count compilers and regional editors, everyone who takes part in the CBC does it for love of birds and with the knowledge that their efforts are contributing to science and bird conservation,” said Robert Templeton, of Dixon who will be participating in the bird count for the 15th year in a row.

Last year’s count shattered records.  A total of 2,369 counts and 71,531 people tallied over 60 million birds of 2,296 different species. Counts took place in all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, and over 100 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.  Three new counts were even welcomed in Cuba, where for the first time ever the tiniest bird in the world, the Bee Hummingbird, was included in the CBC results.

New Mexico contributed to the overall total by counting 30 circles with over 500 volunteers participating last year.  Those counters cataloged over 389,000 individual birds (over 85,000 in Bosque del Apache alone!) of 225 different species.   Albuquerque, not usually one of the leaders in species count, had the most species of any count circle with 122.

“This year we hope to revive a few circles that were not counted last year and add new circles to the mix,” said Christopher Rustay, who helps compile CBC results for New Mexico. “The more counts that we get in New Mexico the better able we are to get a handle on early winter bird populations in the state and the contribution that New Mexico is making to overall bird population health.” Last year’s CBC New Mexico Regional Summary is available online.  

“CBC data helps scientists to understand trends in bird populations and to inform conservation policy,” explained Carol Beidleman, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon New Mexico. “Although it may be exciting to see rarities or species beyond their normal range, we’re really hoping to learn what larger changes are afoot as a result of increasing threats like global warming, which may cause shifting or lingering of species to the north due to increased temperatures.” 

The Audubon CBC is a citizen science project organized by the National Audubon Society. Even novice birders are welcome on the count.  They are teamed up with expert birders who can identify all the birds, but the novice adds another set of ears and eyes.  It can be a great learning experience. There is no fee to participate and the quarterly report, American Birds, will be available online. Audubon Christmas Bird Count information is also available online in Spanish.

To find a count near you, view New Mexico’s CBC Schedule andcheck out detailed results from last year’s CBC.

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Audubon New Mexico: As the state office of the National Audubon Society, Audubon New Mexico’s 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. http://nm.audubon.org/