Christmas Bird Count is Saturday

Smoky Hill Audubon members, National Audubon members and the general public are all invited to participate in this year’s Christmas Bird Count. CBC’s across the country are conducted between December 14 to January 5, inclusive dates, each season.

This year the Salina Christmas bird count will be Saturday December 16th. All interested participants will gather at Lakewood Discovery Center at 7:30 am and depart by 8:00 am. The sun should just be coming up at that time of year. Anyone can participate.

Each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle, and is organized by a count compiler. The circle is divided into 4 quadrants and each quadrant will have a leader. This years count will be organized by Dan Baffa (620) 271-8891. Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day. It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day. No birding skills are required to participate in the count.

If your home is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, then you can stay at home and report the birds that visit your feeder on count day as long as you have made prior arrangement with the count compiler.

The Christmas Bird Count relies on compilers and volunteers on count day, to manage the historic database, to make historic data available to researchers. The data collected by CBC participants over the past century and more have become one of only two large pools of information informing ornithologists and conservation biologists how the birds of the Americas are faring over time.

Smoky Hill Audubon organization urges those interested to take a break from the Christmas rush and spend a day with them. Your Christmas present may be new friends for life.