2023 Christmas Bird Count

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December 16. 2023

For those who are not familiar, per Audubon’s CBC “top questions” website, the CBC “is a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society, with over 100 years of citizen science involvement. It is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and many countries in the Western Hemisphere go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds."

As it has since 1952, the Hampton Roads Bird Club will be sponsoring the 2023 CBC.  The date of the count this year is Saturday, Dec 16, 2023.  The count will take place in the lower peninsula, within the Newport News count “circle” (depicted below).  The circle is divided into 13 sectors, each headed by a sector leader who coordinates the count in their sector.

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There are two ways you can participate—by observing in the field or by feeder-watching.  Field observers count birds in the field as part of a sector team (this can include “owling” as well as observing during daytime hours).  Feeder watchers record observations at a feeder and its immediate vicinity (e.g., entire backyard).

By participating, you can act as a “citizen-scientist” by collecting data that is vital for bird conservation. According to the Audubon CBC website, the data collected by observers over the past century has allowed Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys, such as the Virginia Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years. This long term perspective is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat, and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well.

Why is this important?  Birds are not doing well.  According to Cornell’s All About Birds website, wild bird populations in the continental U.S. and Canada have dropped by almost 30% between 1970 and 2020 — a 2.9 billion decline in bird populations in the continental U.S. and Canada.  And as of December, 2022, Cornell reports these declines are continuing.

Please be part of this great tradition and support this important citizen science effort in bird conservation.  It’s great fun and a great way to help bird conservation efforts--and for those new to Hampton Roads, a great way to be introduced to some of the best birding sites in our region.

So,  please reply to this email* and volunteer to participate, either in the field or by feeder-watching, in this important citizen science effort!

*Please note that this is a different email account than the one I’ve used in the past!

Thanks,

Bill Boeh
Newport News Circle Christmas Bird Count Compiler

phrogdolph@gmail.com

757-951-7959