MOUNTAIN AREA – Bird lovers, photographers and others are invited to join the National Audubon Society’s 116th Christmas Bird Count (CBC).
The CBC is an annual international bird census that began on Christmas Day in 1900, and now takes place in more than 1,500 locations throughout the Americas. This season the Christmas Bird Count will be held in the foothill and Yosemite area between Dec. 14, 2015 and Jan. 5, 2016. Participation is free, and everyone is encouraged to join, regardless of experience.
The Yosemite Area Audubon Society encourages local residents to participate in any or all of the following area counts:
- Saturday, Dec. 19 – Mariposa
- Sunday, Dec. 20 – Yosemite
- Friday, Dec. 18 – Oakhurst
- Wednesday, Dec. 30 – Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Each count is an all-day event, but participation for only part of the day can usually be arranged with the count compiler or party leader. Participants generally start at 7 – 7:30 a.m. and cover an assigned route or zone within the prescribed 15-mile-diameter count circle, counting all positively identified birds (both species and individuals) seen and/or heard.
Inexperienced birders are welcome and encouraged to participate; every field party will have at least one experienced birder who can make or help with identifications. Additional eyes and ears are helpful in finding birds, and novice birders will improve their identification skills.
Participation in the counts is free, but the National Audubon Society will accept voluntary donations to help defray the cost of publishing the CBC results.
The 115th Christmas Bird Count was a record-breaker: for the sixth season straight the bar was raised for both number of counts included and level of participation—1888 circles covered in the United States, alone.
Visit www.yosemiteaudubon.org for additional information, including the contact person and meeting location for each count and a listing of other nearby CBCs.
