by Becky Herman

The 23rd annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will be held Friday, February 14, through Monday, February 17, 2020. It’s free, it’s fun, and it helps scientific research. Here’s how to participate in this annual February tradition that spans the globe. We can thank the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for sponsoring this fun span of four days. It’s a refreshing change from the winter snows and cold weather while we wait for spring to make an appearance.

You can make up your own rules for this birdcount. You can be outdoors wherever you choose, or you can sit inside looking out the windows. All you really must do is make some simple plans. Decide when and where you want to count, take note of observations on your smart phone, or, a paper list works too. Next, make sure you have a way to submit your data after the count is over. If you already have an ebird account or have registered for another Cornell Lab project such as FeederWatch, or NestWatch, you can use that information to report your sightings. You can create a new account at http://birds.cornell.edu Note that you can count for as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count every day for hours. Your own feeders are fine, or you can go as far as a wildlife refuge and stay all day-up to you. Feel free to visit several different places. Just be sure to keep careful notes about where and when you count.

Go alone or with friends. National Audubon encourages experienced birders to take someone along who is learning to identify birds-that sharing of experience and information is called “Pledge to Fledge”.

If you want to study our local winter birds before the Count, see the All About Birds website for online guides and ID tips.

This Count is especially important because it is becoming increasingly apparent that climate change is affecting the number of species and the number of birds within each species, the times of migration and nesting, and changes in species behavior. Remember that it’s important to report your sightings promptly and accurately so that the scientists who study this data can come to correct conclusions.

The Weminuche Audubon Society Board is excited to announce our successful application and award of a grant through the National Audubon Society to promote the use of native plants. In collaboration with the Geothermal Greenhouse Project, this money will be used to install a demonstration Habitat Hero Native Plant garden near the growing domes in Centennial Park. The primary intention of this project is to bring immediate attention to the importance of landscaping with native plants for the benefit of birds and other pollinators.

We will also host a Native Plant Workshop this summer to educate the public on the importance of native plants with training on planting a successful garden in our challenging environment.

Our thanks to the chapter members who assisted in writing the application. Watch for announcements of volunteer opportunities as we move forward with this project.

by Keith Bruno

December 14, 2019, signaled the initiation of another early winter storm. Thankfully there was enough of a lull as the storm gathered energy to allow 60 participants from Pagosa Springs to get out around the county in the short daylight hours and log birds.

For the last nine years, area residents have made a point of strategically navigating eight different zones in our 15-mile diameter circle to provide a representation of our winter bird species, effectively contributing to our nation’s longest running community science effort and this year’s 120th Christmas Bird Count.

Our preliminary findings from this year show that, while we logged 62 bird species (same as last year), overall bird numbers are lower than the past two years. This year, we logged 3,110 total birds. Compare that to 3,466 birds in 2018 and 5,314 birds in 2017, and one can see that we are in a declining pattern for numbers, at least for a short-term comparison. However, there are a few important factors to consider.

First, we had very little open water for this year’s count due to a few weeks of sustained cold temperatures and many water bodies had iced over, meaning that several hundred waterfowl had already “flown the coop” southbound. This year was our first without a single Canada goose.

Second, a storm was moving in and many folks noted that birds appeared to selectively forage when weather was more favorable, often seeking refuge from inclement weather throughout the day. Third, for obvious reasons, it was a difficult day for visibility.

The National Audubon Society (NAS) recorded more than 80,000 volunteer participants in last year’s count. That is an important statistic and represents an increasing interest in the health of bird populations. After all, the substantial and shocking (to many) NAS report, “Survival by Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink”, was compiled mainly with Christmas Bird Count data and definitively illustrates the fact that we urgently need to turn our attention toward healing bird populations. To do so, it means healing the habitat and connectivity that they need to move through the landscape.

So, this year when spring rolls around, consider planting native berry bushes and shrubs, establishing food sources and protection for birds and other pollinators as they navigate a busier world. By doing so, you will make their journey a little easier.

The Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies are grateful for the increasing amount of interest we find each year in folks willing to set time aside to inventory our avian population, knowing full well that the weather can be fickle in mid-December in the southern Rockies. So, thank-you to all of the participants of this year’s Christmas Bird Count. We could not have done it without you.