On December 14th, 2013, small groups of Richmond Hill Naturalists and friends will rise early, bundle up, strap on their binoculars and spread out across southern York Region counting every single bird we see and hear during the day. The data we collect will be sent to Bird Studies Canada and the Audubon Society in the US to join that from tens of thousands of other birders throughout the western hemisphere. Now in its 114th year, the Annual Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running wildlife census in the world and shows no sign of slowing down.
Feeder Watchers Needed!
Feeder-watcher data is also welcome! If you live within the Richmond Hill count circle you can participate in the Christmas Bird Count from the warmth and comfort of your living room. Simply monitor your bird feeders on December 14th and report the data to Gene Denzel ([email protected]).
Also appreciated are people who volunteer to let counters observe their back yards for a few minutes on count day. If you would like to volunteer your yard, please again email [email protected] with the location. For those intrepid beginner or expert birdwatchers who can’t wait to spend a morning, an afternoon or the whole day in the great outdoors participating in the Christmas Bird Count, there is still time to sign up. Please contact Gene Denzel if you would like to help in any way within the Richmond Hill Circle. You can leave a message with Gene at 9058897888 or email [email protected]
A brief History of the CBC
It may be hard now to believe that in my great-grandfather’s youth, many communities would celebrate Christmas by dividing up into teams, or “sides”, and go forth into the wilderness killing every wild creature they found. It was called the Christmas Side Hunt and it both contributed to the winter larders of the community and provided entertainment for the participants. Before you scorn remember there were no video games back then, no television, no movie theatres or even radios. Even Monopoly hadn’t been invented yet. But the human population was increasing and wildlife becoming more and more scarce.
By the late 1800s people were starting to realize the annual “kill everything” sport was not sustainable, but it was not until the year 1900 that the tide really began to shift. Ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early member of the Audubon society, inspired 27 fellow bird enthusiasts to hold the first “Christmas Bird Census” on Christmas Day, 1900. 27 counts were held that day in circles from California to New Brunswick – including Toronto.
The game was now to COUNT (and identify!) rather than KILL every thing that moved, and it’s a challenging game of skill that has become more popular every year since. This year more than 60,000 birders of all skill levels are expected to participate, in more than 2300 circles throughout North and South America. The count now lasts three weeks (this year from December 14th until January 5th), with each circle choosing one day within that range to do their count. Observations from “Count Week” — the week leading up to the Count Day — can also be added to the total.
It’s not just a game: the mass of data collected in this annual bird snapshot has been instrumental in monitoring bird populations and has informed numerous scientific studies. For more information see http://www.bsc-eoc.org/organization/bscnews.html#Christmas