Christmas Bird Count Day
December 16 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Christmas Bird Count, join the fun!
UMBA invites anyone interested in helping with this year’s census to come to the Monday, December 11, 2023 chapter meeting, 7:00 PM in the FWP Regional Headquarters conference room (4600 Giant Springs Road).
Nora Gray will assign participants to one of 10 area teams with experienced team leaders. Inexperienced birders can serve as spotters or the team scribe while learning to identify the birds. The leader packets will be given out at the meeting.
We also hope that anyone not in one of the CBC section car groups will count birds in their yards! You can email or call Nora Gray to report your yard Count Day findings by Sunday, December 17. Remember, “Count Week” is 3 days before & 3 days after “Count Day”. During Count Week, we count only species not see on Count Day, not numbers of birds in a species. If you have sightings on these additional days, please inform Nora! Count Day this year: Sat., Dec.16; Count Week: Dec. 13, 14, 15 & 17, 18, 19.
On count day – Saturday, December 16 – dress WARMLY, bring a thermos with a hot drink and a lunch, binoculars, a scope and a bird field guide (if you have them), AND a sense of adventure. Let Nora know the week before the meeting if you need to borrow a pair of binoculars. She has to go pick them up.
Most teams begin their count around 8:00 AM and finish between noon & 5:00 PM, depending on the weather and size of their count area. Check with your area team leader about where & when to meet Saturday morning.
At 5:00 PM Count Day, participants and other interested folks may join UMBA for the wrap-up session that includes pizza & salad in the FWP Regional Headquarters confer- ence room. Each area leader reports the number of species and birds seen that day and then gives highlights of that area’s sightings. UMBA will pay for CBC participants’ dinners; nonparticipants will pay $7 each. Please let Nora Gray know if you’ll join us for pizza by Thursday, December 14, so that we order enough!
In case of inclement weather, the dinner will be canceled, and the count will be held Sunday, December 17.
For the birds,
Nora Gray