Fish Like a GIRL

The Christmas Bird Count from the Audubon Society kicks off next week. The Count runs from December 14 to January 5 every year. I participate in the Feeder Watch Program through the Cornell Lab and have been proactively getting better at identifying birds and learning about their behaviors and whatnot.

I remember as a kid watching Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds.” I have no idea how I saw such a movie — but it is likely my parents were not at home at the time and my older sister thought it would be fun to scare me with it. I remember I was slightly afraid of birds after that and I also remember hiding in my room under my covers when our parakeet got out of its cage shortly afterwards and was flying around the house. It is laughable now, of course. But looking back, I have no idea how the parakeet got out. I would tend to blame it on nefarious activities of an older sibling, but of course I have no proof of that.

So, to say I have always been a bird lover would not be true, although my dad and I did spend quite a few days grouse hunting each year. And at one point there was a crow who was hanging around my childhood home and became so friendly it would almost eat out of my hand. I called it Crackers, as that was the snack it and I would often share. 

Over the last five or ten years, I have gotten more into birdwatching, excited every time I see birds at the feeder. The memes I often see on social media about people over 40 being so psyched about birds at their feeders — I fit that mold. Or, as I say, I resemble that remark. But it is a cool pastime and I enjoy seeing what types of birds I can attract with various foods and placements of feeders as well as water supplies. It is always fascinating to me how quickly birds will find a new feeder, or how quickly they will come back to one that I have just filled. Often, by the time I get back inside from hanging a full feeder, there are already birds at it. I sometimes wonder if they are just off in the trees somewhere watching to see when I reload a feeder with their favorite foods. But, I suppose, wildlife does not fare well if they miss meals or fail to note where to find a meal.

But back to the Christmas Bird Count, which I will participate in this year. According to the Audubon Society website, this Count started in 1900 when ornithologist Frank Chapman and 26 other conservationists, rather than hunting birds, decided to count them on Christmas Day of that year. Prior to that, hunters had a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt.” Hunters would choose sides and head out into the woods. The side to bring back the biggest pile of feathered and furred quarry would win. Of course, today we understand these resources are not unlimited, as they seemed to be a century or more ago. Even at that time, some were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Hence the Christmas Bird Census came to be. Twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that first year, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Pacific Grove, California. Approximately 90 species were counted when all of the counts were combined and tallied. 

Some counts have been running ever since. Over 20 countries in the western hemisphere hold counts. 

This has provided an extremely large database of information that has been used to help assess the health of bird populations. 

The data is also used to help guide conservation actions and point to specific species or areas that may be most in need of protection or help in some way. The ability to see the abundance and diversity of species and how it changes throughout time is integral to having a better understanding of what is happening to various species across the landscape. Armed with this information, researchers and wildlife managers can make more informed decisions about management as well as habitat restoration and other environmental issues. 

The methodology of the Christmas Bird Count is fairly specific. It involves 15-mile diameter circles. There is a compiler for each circle. The Count is free to participants, but each makes arrangements with the circle compiler to get involved.

Each count volunteer follows a specific route through the circle. Each person counts every bird they see or hear. The Christmas Bird Count is not simply a species tally, but rather volunteers collect information about every bird they see or hear all day long. Once compiled, this gives an indication of how many birds are occupying that circle on that day. Beginning birders are paired with those who have been birding for a time to help facilitate proper counting and techniques. 

Participants coordinate with the local compiler. The count circle compiler is responsible for a number of areas including recruiting, training and assisting participants on the count as well as compiling and submitting all of the data from their circle. 

This count requires some pre-planning, as obviously it can take a bit to find a circle and to coordinate with the compiler for that circle, but there is a map available on the Audubon website that shows all of the current circles. 

There are currently circles in Three Lakes, Minocqua, Manitowish Waters, Phelps, Rhinelander and several other places across the Northwoods. When I looked at the most recent map, there were between 20 and 34 species counted across the Northwoods circles. I think we often feel, in the winter, that wildlife is more limited and there are fewer things to see in the winter. And while that may be somewhat true, as some birds migrate south and some animals hibernate for the winter, I think something like birding in the winter can be eye-opening. To go out and really look and listen for bird species can show us that we are really not as “alone” as we think we are when snow blankets the ground and temperatures plummet. 

For those who are not signed up for the Christmas Bird Count but are interested, there is the ability to sign up for notifications on the Audubon website as well. Alternatively, Project Feeder Watch is going on right now, too, through the Cornell Labs. This involves nothing more than curling up with a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate and watching a feeder outside of your house for a time two days in a row each week. Even if a person does not have time to contribute each week, all observations are important and can add to the database in that program. Volunteers can look back through their own records to see what they have seen in the past and also check out what others nearby are seeing. I learned a lot about bird identification this way when I first started paying more attention to the song birds I saw. There are plenty of opportunities to contribute to birding databases this winter for those who might be interested. Project Feeder Watch, the Christmas Bird Count, the Great Back Yard Bird Count (in February), or even logging sightings on iNaturalist (a smartphone app) are all great ways to pass some time during the holidays, and all year long. 

Beckie Gaskill may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].