Plan to join us on Saturday, December 17, for National Audubon’s 123rd annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  This will mark the 12th year of data contributions from the Pagosa Springs area in the count organized by Weminuche Audubon Society.  Some of our area bird lovers have taken part in all of these local counts.If a major storm cancels the count on the 17th, we will hold it on the 18th.

The Christmas Bird Count is the longest running citizen science census of early winter birds in the Western Hemisphere.  The CBC provides critical data on bird populations which is widely used in predicting trends and in protecting species in declines.  Our count follows established protocols for documenting all birds detected within a 15 mile diameter circle, divided into 8 zones, which is centered at the transfer station on Trujillo Rd.

We encourage participation by bird enthusiasts of all skill levels to join in the fun. Visitors to Pagosa are always welcome to join us.  You may join a team to count birds in one of the designated zones.  If you live within the count circle area, you can join from home by counting birds at your feeders, or by welcoming us onto your property to count the birds we see.

To avoid conflicting with Holiday festivities organized by the Town of Pagosa on the 17th, our chili dinner wrap-up party, where we look at our count results and compare results between areas, will be held in January.  For more information or to sign up for the count, email us at weminuche.audubon@gmail.com  Early sign up is encouraged and is a big help to Zone Leaders in dividing areas to be covered.