By Keith Bruno
Special to The SUN
Please join efforts for the longest-running citizen science survey in the world. The Weminuche Audubon Society (WAS) and Audubon Rockies humbly request your support in completion of the 119th Christmas Bird Count (CBC).
Each year, volunteers across the Western Hemisphere head out to participate in this early-winter bird census. The CBC provides critical data on bird population trends, as contributors log what they see and hear within a 15-mile diameter circle, in our case encompassing Pagosa Springs. Individuals may submit counts from their backyard bird feeders (please make arrangements with the count organizers to contribute) or join a team to traverse one of eight zones within our count circle.
The Pagosa Springs count will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15. Participants are encouraged to attend the wrap-up tally and chili dinner party from 4 to 7 p.m. at the PLPOA Conference Room. In the event of foul weather on Dec. 15, the proposed alternate date for the count is Sunday, Dec. 16.
In order to prepare for the count, Audubon Rockies’ Keith Bruno will host a bird identification class, “Winter Birds 101,” for three evenings leading up to the count, each from 6 to 7:30 p.m. We’ll cover waterfowl on Nov. 28, perching songbirds on Dec. 5 and raptors (plus CBC protocols and review) on Dec. 12. All evening sessions will be held at the Methodist Church on Lewis Street from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
We hope you’ll join in on the effort to log birds for this Year of the Bird and contribute to community science.
For more information about the CBC, visit https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count or check out our website at www.weminucheaudubon.org. To get involved, please contact Keith Bruno at kbruno@audubon.org.
