Bird's Eye View

Here's something a bit different that I stumbled across today that happens on Wednesday. I thought, I'd write about an activity the whole family might enjoy during the school break.

December 14 marks the beginning of Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The Count runs through January 5, 2011.  The first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place on December 25, 1900 when 27 participants counted and identified about 18,500 birds, mostly in the northeastern U.S. Now, volunteers brave snow and chilly temperatures to identify and count birds throughout the 50 states and in Canada. Last year, over 2200 counts were completed and 61 million birds were reported! CBC data helps scientists understand how bird populations have changed over the past century. Forty years’ worth of observation data from the CBC show that 58 percent of North American bird species seen in the first few weeks of winter have shifted their ranges north. Sixty species have moved over 100 miles north – the wild turkey has moved a whopping 400 miles!

Viewer Tip: Anyone can participate in the Christmas Bird Count . CBC takes place in “count circles” that focus on specific geographic areas. Every circle has a leader, so even if you are a beginner bird watcher, you’ll be able to count birds with an experienced birder and contribute data to the longest-running wildlife census. If your home happens to be within the boundaries of a count circle, you can count the birds that visit your backyard feeder.

MIDWEST Details: Observers during recent annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts are noticing different birds in their local areas during the winter months than observers did in the 1960s. Between 1966 and 2005, significant northward movement of 177 out of 305 observed species was documented. Not all species moved north and a few may be wintering a little farther south, but the general trend has been an average northward movement of 35 miles. More than 60 species are now wintering at least 100 miles farther north than they did in the 1960s. General trends of species movement toward or away from the poles happen during periods of climate warming and cooling, as species seek their preferred conditions. The average temperature in January in the lower 48 states rose by over five degrees Fahrenheit from 1966-2005. This means that temperatures are now more tolerable in more northerly areas, letting birds stop their southerly migrations sooner and remain closer to the North Pole during winter. In the Midwest United States, the range of the American Goldfinch has advanced by 250 miles over the past 40 years. This is about the distance from the southern to northern border of Missouri.

Thanks to my friends at Earth Gauge for the notice on this great opportunity.