Originally published in the Syracuse Post-Standard by David Figura

December 15, 2014

Audubon New York and the National Audubon Society invites birdwatchers to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count, which officially kicked off Sunday.

The annual count, which has been going on for 115 years, is the longest-running citizen science survey in the world. Birders, nature enthusiasts and others in communities across the country take part. Audubon New York staff and volunteers are leading Christmas Bird Counts across the state with registration now open for all events.

"The Christmas Bird Count harnesses the power of volunteers to help check the pulse or our ecosystem," said Erin Crotty, executive director of Audubon New York. "New York's local counts are part of a vast national volunteer network that helps track the health of bird populations on a scale that professional scientists could never do alone.The CBC data collected informs environmental conservation decision-making at the highest levels and helps us protect birds and the habitat we share with them."

The count officially started Dec. 14 and ends Jan. 5. There is no cost to participate and a quarterly report, American Birds, will be available online.

Each individual count is performed in a county circle with a diameter of 15 miles. At least 10 volunteers, including a compiler to coordinate the process, count in each circle. The volunteers break up in to small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year. They count every bird they see. In most county circles, some people also watch feeders instead of following routes.

For more, call Chris Lajewski at the Montezuma Audubon Center in Savannah, at 365-3580. He can also be reached at clajewski@audubon.org.

For a complete schedule of Christmas Bird Counts in New York with registration information, see the Audubon website.

This fall, Audubon scientists released the results of a study concerning birds and climate based in part on 30 years of Audubon Christmas Bird Count data. The study revealed more than half of North American birds (314 of 588 bird species) are threatened by climate change. Areas providing suitable climate for several New York birds, including the common loon, purple finch, wood thrush, and ruffed grouse, are predicted to change dramatically.

Audubon scientists have also shown that more than 60 percent of widespread North American winter birds are already spending the winter farther north than they did in the 1960s.

Traditional counting of birds, together with high-tech modeling and mapping data, has enabled researchers to make surprising discoveries that would not have been possible in earlier decades, Crotty said.

Audubon Christmas Bird Count data is helping pinpoint priority areas for conservation; the "strongholds" where birds now live that are forecast to remain stable for multiple species in the future.