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BAS will conduct our 52nd CBC since 1955 on Saturday, December 17 in our
traditional
count circle 15 miles in diameter centered in Hyde Park. Last year, 52 people
helped to count
birds from before dawn until after dusk. A sizeable portion of us continued into
the evening as
we chowed down during the compilation potluck at CVUU.
Hemispherically, this will be the 112th CBC. Last year, a record 2,215 counts
were conducted
by another record of 62,624 observers, tallying yet another record 61,359,451.7
birds of
2,250 species (OK, so I made up the ".7"...only living birds count, not bird
bits). In the U.S.,
we found 646 species. And, once again, Prudhoe Bay - despite diligent searching
in searing
cold temperatures - found only one species, common raven!
The CBC is the single largest citizen science effort ever undertaken, and the
data is being
used by many researchers to understand a wide variety of questions, from the
behavioral
details of a single species to the impacts of global climate change. This
wouldn´t be possible
without volunteers like you.
So, we´ll continue collecting collect high-quality data in our own backyard, and
here is where
you come in. A 15-mile CBC circle is a lot of ground to cover, so we need help
from
everyone-expert and beginner alike. We need anyone with eyeballs and an interest
in birds.
We especially need skiers and snowshoers, kids to help count the thousands of
starlings and
house sparrows, and feeder watchers searching for possible Harris´ or
white-throated
sparrows. We need "strangers" who might identify birds unusual here but common
where
they come from. We need hikers, canoeists, and people in cars and dirigibles
(OK, so maybe
we won´t have many dirigibles; maybe lawn chairs with balloon option kits?).
To cap off the day, we´ll meet at 6:00 p.m. that evening at the Cache Valley
Unitarian
Universalists building at 596 East 900 North, Logan for the traditional potluck
and compilation
(libations welcome).
If you can dedicate a day - or part of a day - to science and have a hankering
to spend that
day in the out-of-doors with like-minded nature lovers, join us on our Christmas
Bird Count.
Contact Bryan Dixon, 752-6830 or bdixon@xmission.com, or Jim Cane, 713-4668,
jim.cane@usu.edu, to find out where you´re needed.
The cost to participate is a mere $5 (under 18 free) to cover NAS´s cost of
compiling the
results. Everyone is invited. Bring your friends. Bring your family. Be a
continuing part of
history.
Bryan and Jim
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