Each year the number of participating counters grows on the Ely Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The count is always scheduled on one of the weekends closest to Christmas and this year the count will take place on Saturday, December 22nd. I have been currently been talking to our cast of previous counters and some new participants who are interested in counting in the Ely CBC 15-mile diameter circle that includes the towns of Ely and Winton and areas of the surrounding townships and the Superior National Forest in northern St. Louis and Lake counties.
Organization and assignments will occur through this week up to the Ely Field Naturalist December monthly, end of the year, winter solstice meeting scheduled for 6:00 to 8:00 pm, Wednesday, December 19 at Ely Field Naturalist Resource Center in HakEly, 41 East Chapman Street, Ely MN. If you want to discuss your role in our CBC, please contact me by phone/text (218-235-8078) or email (efnb...@gmail.com). Counters and others are welcome to join us on December 19 to explore the maps of CBC circles across the Arrowhead, to add decorations of field naturalist nature to the Winter Solstice Tree, and to build a calendar of Ely Field Naturalist activities for 2019. This announcement gives you the opportunity to make plans for the day and possibly travel to Ely and a stay in Ely during the weekend of our count. Don’t forget that for any CBC a species that is not seen on count day can be added if it is seen on any of the 3 days before or 3 days after, ie. Count Week. Contact me if you would like to join our count and find an assignment that fits your needs. People coming into town just before Christmas may need to find a place to stay that will mesh with their plans. To assist making accommodations some local providers of lodging may offer reduced rates for anyone that is participating in the Ely Christmas Bird Count. If you are interest in the weekend, December 21-22, you could call Stay Inn Ely at 218-365-6010 or the Ely Chamber of Commerce to see what they have available. If you would like to participate in this or other area counts this year, feel free to contact me. Members of the Ely Field Naturalists are coordinators or participants on most local counts and we can help you make contacts and plans. You can also visit the Minnesota Ornithologist’s Union website under “Other Resources” “Minnesota CBCs” “MN CBC Locations” or just enter www.moumn.org/CBC/locations_map.php in your browser and get maps and other information for any of the state’s CBCs. We hope you can join us in exploring the winter wonders of Minnesota with us. -- *Bill tefftefnb...@gmail.com <efnb...@gmail.com>218-235-8078* ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
