The National Audubon Society invites birdwatchers to participate in the world's longest running citizen science survey, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC).
Between Dec. 14, 2014, and Jan. 5, 2015, birders and nature enthusiasts throughout Vermont and from far beyond will take part in this tradition.
In the Brattleboro area, the count will be done on Saturday Dec. 20. For more information, write Chris Petrak at chrsptrk@svcable.net.
Each year, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count mobilizes more than 70,000 volunteer bird counters in more than 2,400 locations across the hemisphere, from Tierra del Fuego to the land above the Arctic Circle. It utilizes the power of volunteers to track the health of bird populations at a scale that professional scientists could not accomplish alone.
Data compiled in each Audubon Christmas Bird Count circle will record every bird and bird species seen in a specified area, contributing to a vast citizen-science network that continues a tradition stretching back to 1900.
This fall, Audubon scientists released a groundbreaking study (climate.audubon.org) based in part on 30 years of Audubon Christmas Bird Count data. The study revealed that 314 of 588 bird species studied could lose more than 50 percent of their current ranges by 2080 if climate change continues on its trajectory.
Many could face extinction.
Audubon scientists have also shown that more than 60 percent of widespread North American winter birds are already wintering farther north than they did in the 1960s.
Traditional counting of birds, together with high-tech modeling and mapping data, enabled researchers to make surprising discoveries that would not have been possible in earlier decades.
Birders of all ages are welcome to contribute to this fun winter tradition and nationwide citizen-science project, which provides ornithologists with a crucial snapshot of the native bird populations during winter.
Each individual count is performed in a count circle with a diameter of 15 miles. At least 10 volunteers, including a compiler to coordinate the process, count in each circle. The volunteers break up into small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year, counting every bird they see.