Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The 114th Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Since 1900, the National Audubon Society has led the charge in counting birds during the annual "Christmas Bird Census" across the U.S., Canada and many other countries in the Western Hemisphere. It's longest-running citizen science survey in the world!

From December 14th through January 5th, tens of thousands of volunteers will take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission - often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season.

Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations - and to help guide conservation action.

If you would like to participate this year, please click here.

In addition to the international count, local birdwatchers will be participating in the annual Rocky Mountain National Park/Estes Park Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 14th. Teams of field counters will spend the day locating, identifying, and counting every bird in a 15-mile circle bounded by the Longs Peak Campground on the south, the Ute Trail crossing on Trail Ridge Road on the west, and Dunraven Glade and Meadowdale. Potential participants should contact count coordinator Gary Matthews by Sunday, December 7th to receive a team assignment. You can email him at gjmatlop@aol.com or call at 970-586-5093.







Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

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