Christmas Bird Count continues this weekend

BARRE — This is the season for bird-watching, and there are several chances for bird lovers to have their observations included in the annual Christmas Bird Count.

The 112th running of this event goes through Jan. 5, and tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and help guide conservation.

Last year’s count shattered records. A total of 2,215 counts and 62,624 people tallied more than 60 million birds. Counts took place in all 50 states and all Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands.

Each count occurs in a designated circle, 15 miles in diameter, and is led by an experienced birder, or designated compiler.

The count is the longest-running citizen science program in the world. It began on Christmas Day in 1900 when ornithologist and birder Frank Chapman posed an alternative to an earlier traditional holiday “side hunt.” Chapman proposed “hunting” birds to record their numbers.

There is a specific methodology to the count, and birds need to be counted within an existing circle. Even beginning birders are able to join a group that includes at least one experienced bird-watcher. If a person’s home is within the boundaries of a bird count circle, he or she can stay home and report the birds that visit feeders. For more information about the counts contact the Vermont Center for Ecostudies at 802-649-1431.

Remaining counts are scheduled for Saturday in Hinesburg-Huntington (contact Paul Wieczoreck at [email protected]) and Rutland (contact Roy Pilcher in [email protected]), and Sunday in Barnet (contact Charlie Brown at [email protected]) and Norwich-Hanover, N.H. (contact Daniel Crook at [email protected]).