NATURE CONNECTION

Making Birds Count

WORDS BY LYDIA THOMPSON

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Chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and sparrows — winter is the time to count birds. Why? Birds settle in the winter. They are not nesting. In summer, one day you will have a noisy pair of birds, and the next thing you know, you have baby birds all over the place. It is hard to keep up with the comings and goings of all those bird families. In the fall and spring, the types of birds are constantly changing. One day, there may be a group of warblers … the next day, there are a bunch of thrushes. Migration is fun for trying to see unusual birds. But, in the winter, we have our resident cardinals, chickadees, and titmice just hanging out. Our winter birds are sitting in their area, so it is easy to get an idea of the number of birds.

Starting in December and continuing through January 1, the National Audubon Society conducts the annual Christmas Bird Count. Local Audubon groups create a 15-mile diameter circle, which is divided among groups of birders. Each group would come together in the evening and compile the number of birds each group saw. There are several bird-count circles along our Georgia Coast. At the end of the bird count period, we have a good picture of our winter birds. It is exciting to see which circle has the most birds or the rarest ones.

In the mid-1990s, when the internet was becoming more user-friendly, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology decided to try out this new technology to see if they could map where the different species of birds were wintering. In addition, they were looking at how weather trends affected where the birds winter. Thus, the Cornell Lab created the Great Backyard Bird Count around Valentine’s weekend. At first, the lab was getting folks who feed the birds to log onto the Great Backyard Bird Count website and record the birds. The maps show in real-time where the birds were around the country. But over the years, it has grown and expanded beyond the backyard.

It is my life focus to encourage new birders. These two bird counts are perfect. They both pair experienced birders with beginners and grow their knowledge of birds. Our Glynn County bird count is January 1. The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 18-21. Look at the Coastal Georgia Audubon website for details. www.coastalgeorgiaaudubon.org

Last year, I joined Art Trends Gallery. Our January-February show is called “For The Love of Birds.” I will be giving two talks. On January 13, I will be giving a talk titled “Making Birds Count.” The subject is on the Christmas Bird Count and some exciting birds we found along our coast.

On February 10, the talk is titled, “The Great Backyard Bird Count,” and the program will be a tutorial on the count and birds we might see at our bird feeders.

All this counting of birds shows us how we connect to our coast and the world through the birds. It is a Nature Connection we can count on.

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