‘Tis the Season for Christmas Bird Counts

For birders, the Christmas season isn’t about staying warm by the fire. Every year, thousands of birders across Canada get up at dawn to brave the elements for a full day of birding on a freezing winter day. This tradition is known as the Christmas Bird Count.

The requirements are simple: warm, water proof clothing, binoculars, a spotting scope, bird book, field check-list, lunch, a thermos of tea and good supply of cookies. At the end of the day, the birders gather for a potluck dinner, to tally up the numbers and species of birds seen, and share stories about the day’s adventures.

Christmas bird counts have been going on for more than a century. American ornithologist Frank Chapman of the Audubon Society organized the first bird census on Christmas day, 1900. At this time, conservation was a new concept, and scientists were just beginning to be concerned about declining bird populations. Chapman changed history when he proposed that rather than shooting birds, they be watched and counted.

Today, the Christmas Bird Count, or CBC is held in over 2000 localities, in Canada, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Over 55, 000 volunteer bird watchers participate every year. In each area, teams are designated to cover circular count-areas that are 24 kilometres in diameter. The one-day count must be conducted within the official count period, between December 14th and January 5th.

The counts are not an “exact science” since the areas are often large, and birders are limited by time and the area’s accessibility. Large flocks of birds flying over can be difficult to count, and rough estimates have to be made. Field identification, in bad light or weather conditions, can also be a challenge. With experienced birders heading each team, best efforts are made to be as accurate as possible.

After the count the data is sent to Bird Studies Canada, a non-profit organization that oversees all of the Canadian bird counts. Years of bird count data give us valuable information about bird populations. In the words of Canadian coordinator Dick Cannings: “CBC has evolved into a powerful and important tool, providing raw material for studies monitoring the status of bird populations, as well as the overall health of the environment.”

Locally, there are four bird count regions: Deep Bay, Comox Valley, Campbell River, and the Little River to Powell River ferry route. Ambitious birders, and those who want to work off their turkey dinners, can do all four bird counts, completing the “quad.”

I feel a personal connection with the local bird count, since my grandfather, Allan Brooks, published the first Christmas bird census for Comox in 1919. The other counts are far more recent; the Campbell River count was started in 1972, the Deep Bay count in 1975, and the Little River-Powell River ferry count in 2003.

Our area is rich in bird life, with a variety of habitats that attract many different species. In 2008, there was a total of 90 species recorded during the Christmas count in Campbell River. Adverse weather conditions resulted in the cancellation of some counts in recent years. The last Comox count, in 2006 yielded 108 species, and the Deep Bay count in 2007 had 93 species. On the Little River to Powell River Ferry route, 29 species were recorded in 2008.

There is a friendly rivalry between Vancouver and Victoria each year to see which city tallies the most bird species. In 2008, Victoria won, with 137 species, and Vancouver was close with 125 species.

When I reflect back on the Christmas bird counts that I have done over the years, there have been many magical moments. I remember a sunny day in Cumberland, when I saw a flock of brilliant yellow, black and white Evening Grosbeaks, mixed with a few Common Redpolls, at a backyard feeder. A few years ago, at Salmon Point Pub, a rare Bohemian Waxwing swooped in to feed on a shrub with red berries. Once, we looked across Comox Bay, and saw a White Pelican.

Rare or usual birds are always a thrill, but it is also nice to admire the common birds too, like a multi-coloured Harlequin Duck hauled out on a rock in the full sunlight, or a little Brown Creeper working its way up the trunk of a tree.

With a baby and toddler, I’ll be staying “warm by the fire” this year. But I’m planning to go to the potluck, to hear the birder’s stories and tallies.

Information on this year’s Christmas Bird Count is posted on the Comox Valley Naturalists’ web site.

Filed under Nature Writing | Tags: Bird Watching, Birds, British Columbia, Christmas Bird Count, Comox Valley, Vancouver Island | Comment (0)