Please note, information is on our website, Cayugabirdclub.org. You can either access the blog through the December newsletter article on the front page or you can search under resources for Christmas Bird Count (but be aware that the resource article has not been updated since last year's count although this year's content is not much different.) You can access the count circle map in either place.
This year will be Audubon’s 114th Christmas Bird Count. The Cayuga Bird Club again will organize the Ithaca count on their traditional date of January 1. This year that falls on a Wednesday, which is a holiday for most of us. All members of the public are encouraged to participate and we are very anxious to have anyone interested in this feel comfortable about participating. It is not necessary that you be a member of the Cayuga Bird Club. So please get in touch. If you see an area below that you are familiar with and would like to cover, let me know. If you would like more information or if you would like assistance in choosing a count area or if you are a beginner and are concerned about identifying birds accurately, you may call the Count Co-Coordinator, Linda Orkin at 279-4253 or email at this dedicated email address, cbccay...@gmail.com . I will be happy to discuss some options with you. Area leaders will be in touch with participants from last year, so no need to contact us, unless you do not hear from someone by the middle of December. Within the 15-mile diameter Ithaca count circle, we have nine areas from which to choose, all with their own hotspots. Here is a link to our bird club page with more details, including map of the circle and the areas: http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/Resources/christmas-bird-count. Beginners can be paired with more experienced birders if they wish. The more eyes and ears, the better. Dress warmly, be sure to have some hot beverages and other provisions with you and get out and enjoy the day. This will be a great start to your own personal 2014 bird list while contributing to this monumental data collection. You can begin at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 by listening for owls, or you can head out at dawn to tally resident songbirds. You can drive around in the afternoon to look for hawks, and/or you can snuggle in at home and count birds at your feeders. As you can see, there are many options for participation and your input is invaluable at all levels. We want to thank all of you in advance for your time and contribution. If you choose to stay home and count birds at your feeders, write down the total time you spend watching, the species seen, and the maximum number of birds of each species seen at any one time. This is the same protocol as Project Feederwatch. Call the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at 254-2473 between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (no later, please!) to report your totals to this year’s club volunteer, We sincerely invite all to join other Christmas Bird Count (CBC) participants in the auditorium at the Laboratory of Ornithology, starting at 6:00 p.m., for a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. followed by the compilation of sightings at 7:15 p.m. Bring a dish to share, a beverage and your own table service. Our count compiler will once again be Kevin McGowan, who always brings a fount of knowledge and a wonderful historical perspective to this endeavor. Counts are submitted to Audubon, which compiles the data from all the count circles. Audubon posts all CBC data on the Internet and makes this huge database is available for anyone to access—high school students doing a project, newspaper reporters writing about bird population trends, or scientists doing research. *Area I* West Dryden, Hile School Road area. Open fields, secondary growth fields, and woodlots. Possible Merlin, White-winged Crossbills, blackbirds, and sparrows. *Area II* Fall Creek area, Mount Pleasant. Woodlands and fields. Good for turkeys, hawks, and herons. *Area III* The linear park in Dryden, Beam Hill, and Yellow Barn Road. Pine and spruce forests, good for winter finches. *Area *IV Laura Stenzler: Ellis Hollow area, Snyder Hill, Ringwood. Woodlands and fields. Good for hawks, turkeys, bluebirds, sparrows, owls, and finches. *Area V* Six Mile Creek gorge, Brooktondale area. Our largest area, good birding and hiking. Possible turkey and grouse. *Area VI* Danby area, Finger Lakes Trail, and Buttermilk Falls. Noted for wintering bluebirds and robins. *Area VII * West side of Cayuga Lake, Bostwick Road, Mecklenberg Road. Good for waterfowl, including all three species of merganser. *Area VIII* Cornell campus, Cayuga Heights, and Stewart Park. Good for rare birds, Fish Crows, and gulls. *Area IX* East side of Cayuga Lake, Lansing area. Fields, woodlots. Waterfowl and field birds, including Northern Shrike and Short-eared Owl. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count has always been held in the December 14 through January 5 time span. In addition to count circles throughout the United States, counts are conducted in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the Pacific Islands. You can see results, photos, and get more detailed information at http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/Resources/christmas-bird-count . We urge you to browse this site to evaluate the importance and scope of this ongoing count. The data that is gathered through this huge and historic effort is invaluable and we are all fortunate that we get to be a part of this historic count. -- Don't ask what your bird club can do for you, ask what you can do for your bird club!! <')_,/ -- Don't ask what your bird club can do for you, ask what you can do for your bird club!! <')_,/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
