How to join with bird watchers across the country as they count winged creatures
Jeff Payne will be outside counting birds in December.
He's a 64-year-old veterinarian from Berlin, Somerset County, who has been counting birds since the early 1980s as part of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Audubon has been doing this for 123 years, now across the Western Hemisphere with tens of thousands of volunteers participating.
“All that data creates a snapshot of wintering birds,” Payne said about helping researchers track travel patterns. Over time, it can be determined which species have moved north during the winter. The data is compiled and used for research because of groups that work in 15-mile diameter circles of land. Payne volunteers as the compiler for the Johnstown circle for the Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society.
But in the 123 years, it hasn't always been about counting birds; it started off with a tradition of killing them.
"There was a tradition back in that time, the late 1800s of people going out on Christmas Day and shooting as many birds as they could, any birds, whether they are sparrows, cardinals, Juncos or wrens,” he said.
Some conservationists, near the turn of the century, changed the tradition to just counting and observing the variety of birds. There are now circles for bird counting across the United States and Canada, between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.
There is a methodology to the bird count, and volunteers must make arrangements to participate in advance with a circle compiler. Those can be found on Audubon.org.
Each circle is hoping to find the most birds as part of a friendly competition. In past years, Pennsylvania’s top circles were in Lancaster and Bucks counties, where they have found close to 100 different species of birds.
Payne's circle is south of Johnstown, and his group has found some unusual birds over the years. One birder spotted a parasitic jaeger, a bird that breeds on the Arctic tundra.
“At the end of the day, you hope you get to turn in a couple birds (species) that no one else found. It’s kind of fun,” he said.
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Why count birds?
“Trends can be significant," Payne said, and looking at long-term trends is more valuable than one single observation.
Having citizen scientists contribute data helps researchers with their findings because the volume provides more accuracy. The data contributes to one of only two large existing pools of information notifying ornithologists and conservation biologists of what conservation action is required to protect birds, according to the Audubon Society.
For example Payne’s volunteers have been seeing more pileated woodpeckers in recent years. He believes the Emerald Ash Borer that killed ash trees is responsible. The dead ash trees are holding insects that are attractive to woodpeckers. “Pileated numbers seem to be stronger, other birds not so much.”
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Where to look and what to carry
To participate, watch bird feeders in the backyard or hike into wooded, marshy areas or waterways. Morning is best because birds are hungry at that time of day and moving around, Payne said.
To count birds, such as at a popular place like a bird feeder, count them when they're together to avoid counting the same birds twice.
To participate, Payne suggests:
Carry binoculars or a spotting scope.
Use a field guide book of birds to help identify species.
Wear layers of clothing because of the cold temperatures at this time of year.
Sign up early because cicle organizers would like to hear from people 10 to 14 days before the count.
Visit audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count to register or email Payne at paynemt@gmail.com for more details.
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Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count happening over holidays
