LOCAL VOLUNTEERS IN OLIVER AND OSOYOOS TO JOIN

Over 12,000 volunteers across Canada—and over 60,000 continent-wide—will be counting birds from December 14, 2014 to January 5, 2015. Birders from Oliver and Osoyoos will be part of the local count, many rising before dawn to participate in the world’s longest running wildlife census begun in 1900.

The Christmas Bird Count is a project of the National Audubon Society in the United States and is coordinated in Canada by Bird Studies Canada. The 115th CBC is expected to be larger than ever, expanding its geographical coverage and accumulating information about the winter distributions of various birds. Today, volunteers from every Canadian province and territory, all 50 of the United States, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands, count and record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area.

“This is not just about counting birds,” says Dick Cannings, Bird Studies Canada program coordinator. “Data from the Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies and inform decisions by wildlife managers across Canada. Because birds are early indicators of environmental threats to habitats we share, this is a vital survey of North America and, increasingly, the Western Hemisphere.”

Christmas Bird Count data have revealed the dramatic impact climate change is already having on birds, and a disturbing decline in common birds, including the Rusty Blackbird. The many decades of data not only help identify birds in need of conservation action, it also reveals success stories. The Christmas Bird Count helped document the comeback of the Bald Eagle and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of conservation efforts.

Last year’s count shattered records in Canada.  A total of 412 counts involving over 12,000 participants tallied 3.9 million birds of 303 species.

The count began in 1900 when Dr. Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore (which evolved into Audubon magazine) suggested an alternative to the holiday “side hunt,” in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most small game, including birds. Chapman proposed that people count birds instead.

This year will be the 36th annual Oliver-Osoyoos Christmas Bird Count and will take place on December 27th. Participants will be covering from the north edge of Oliver to Boundary Point across the border, and from Anarchist Mountain to the west end of Richter Pass. Other adjacent areas are covered by other counts, Vaseux Lake, Bridesville and Cawston. Anyone interested in participating, either by coming out with us or by recording the birds at their feeders, should contact the count organizer Doug Brown by phone at 250-495-6164 or by email at douglasbrown01@yahoo.ca.

Bird Studies Canada is recognized nation-wide as a leading and respected, not-for-profit, conservation organization dedicated to the study and understanding of wild birds and their habitats. Each year, more than 20,000 volunteers actively participate in BSC research and education activities.