By Dottie George
Special to The SUN
The Weminuche Audubon Society is gearing up for Pagosa’s annual Christmas Bird Count. Any local resident or visitor with an interest in birds is invited to participate.
To get us ready to count birds, Audubon Rockies’ Becky Gillette will offer a series of informal training sessions entitled “Winter Birds 101.” This mini course will cover the basics of identifying the 113 bird species found in our area.
The series begins Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Ross Aragon Community Center South Conference Room from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Subsequent sessions will be held on Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the Christmas Bird Count.
Here in Pagosa, the 115th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count will take place Dec. 14. Participants may submit counts of birds at their feeders or from one of the zones within Pagosa’s 15-mile diameter count circle.
The longest running citizen science survey in the world, the Christmas Bird Count provides critical data on bird population trends. Tens of thousands of participants throughout North America know that it is also a lot of fun.
We hope you’ll join us in learning about birds and contributing to citizen science. For more information, check our website, www.weminucheaudubon.org or call Dottie George at 731-5759.
