Christmas Bird Count, Feeder Watch, and Zoom Celebration

Christmas Bird Count, Feeder Watch, and Zoom Celebration

Written by Andy McCormick, CBC Compiler

Eastside Audubon will be conducting the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in our count circle on Saturday, December 18, 2021. As we did last year, we will conduct the count with small teams and be following the Eastside Audubon COVID-19 protocol. 

We are also recruiting people to join our CBC Feeder Watch Team and count birds at home. The only limitation is that you have to watch birds within the CBC Count Circle, which you can see below. 

Any Audubon member may join the Post-Count Zoom Celebration and review the count day activities. 

All registrations for Christmas Bird Count activities begin at https://www.eastsideaudubon.org/christmas-bird-count.

Each year our feeder watch team has been growing and we hope you will consider watching birds at your feeder and entering the total into our database to be included in the CBC total count. First, register with Eastside Audubon. Then, on Saturday, December 18, choose a two-hour period when the birds will be busiest around your feeder or yard. 

Here is how to join the EAS CBC Feeder Watch Team and count birds at home. The deadline for registrations is December 12, 2021.

  1. Register with Eastside Audubon by completing the online form at https://www.eastsideaudubon.org/christmas-bird-count.

  2. We will check your address to determine if your home falls within the EAS CBC Count Circle and let you know if you are eligible to be a feeder watcher. You can check the Count Circle below.

  3. Feeder watchers should watch their feeders for two consecutive hours. Count the maximum number of a species you see or hear at any one time. For example, if you start watching at 7:00 a.m. and see 3 Black-capped Chickadees at 7:20, but at 8:00 a.m. you see 5, your count would be 5, not 8. In another example, if you see a Steller’s Jay at 7:10, see 2 and hear a third from a nearby tree at 8:20, and 2 more at 8:50, your count will be 3 Steller’s Jays, the most seen and/or heard at one time.

  4. As soon as you can after you count birds enter the data into the Feederwatch Data Sheet online. If you cannot enter data from your computer or cell phone make a list of the birds and the highest number you saw at one time and mail them to: Eastside Audubon, P.O. Box 3115, Kirkland, WA 98083-3115, or email them to amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.

  5. Thank you for being a feeder watcher and adding the birds in your yard to the Christmas Bird Count data.

EAS COUNT CIRCLE MAP:

Photo credit by Penelope Kipps.