Christmas Bird Count
Liz Hailman, Audubon of Martin County Christmas Bird Count Coordinator
561-746-7293, CBC@AudubonMartinCounty.org
White Ibis. Photo: © Paul Yorke.
What Is The Christmas Bird Count?
The Christmas Bird Count is an organized annual bird census. Participants attend an orientation and training meeting, then go out in teams on a predetermined day. Each team covers a specified radius, and these radii are mostly the same from year to year. This year's Orientation Meeting was held on December 9, 2010. More information may be found in the December 2010 issue of our Scrub Jay newsletter. See results of this year's Martin County Christmas Bird Count on our blog.
History of the Christmas Bird Count
Through the 19th century, many North Americans participated in the tradition of Christmas "side hunts," in which they competed to see how many birds they could kill, regardless of whether they had any use for the carcasses or whether the birds were beneficial, beautiful, or rare. At the end of that century the U.S. ornithologist Frank Chapman, an officer in the recently formed National Audubon Society, proposed counting birds on Christmas, instead of killing them.
In 1900, 27 observers took part in the first count, in 25 places in the United States and Canada. Since then, counts have been held every winter. Audubon of Martin County has participated in Christmas Bird Counts for more than 50 years, with only one interruption.
For details of previous Stuart counts, go to this National Audubon Society page. Enter FLST in Option C, and click "Find Count." Click "Stuart[FLST]" in the Count Code box and click "Make Table." The most-recent year's results are displayed, but you may select results for previous years from the Results page.
Counting Methods
Each individual count is performed in a "count circle" with a diameter of 15 miles. At least ten volunteers, including a compiler to manage things, count in each circle. They break up into small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year, counting every bird they see. In most count circles, some people also watch feeders instead of following routes.
Counts can be held on any day from December 14 to January 5 inclusive. The date for the Martin County Christmas Bird Count is announced at the annual orientation meeting, in our Scrub Jay newletter, and on this page.
The results are by no means as accurate as a human census. Not all of the area in the count circles is covered, and not every bird along the routes is seen or identified. Big flocks can't be counted precisely. Also, telling whether a bird has been counted twice can be difficult. The rules address this problem by prohibiting counting birds when retracing one's route, except for species that the party hasn't seen before. When a large roost of some species occurs in a count circle, an expert estimates the number for that species during the morning or evening, and usually no individuals are counted at other times. Observers can attempt to keep track of flocks of mobile birds such as crows, and can use their judgement, even sometimes recognizing an individual bird or at least that two birds of the same species are different individuals. Source: Wikipedia
How To Participate
Contact Liz Hailman or watch this page for the date for next year's Count. Participants must attend the orientation meeting (usually in December), which is announced here and in our Scrub Jay newsletter. Watch Upcoming Events on our home page for dates.
For more information:
- How the Christmas Bird Count Helps Birds (National Audubon Society)
- Christmas Bird Count Frequently Asked Questions (National Audubon Society)
