‘Tis the season for the Audubon’s 124th Christmas Bird Count (CBC). If you are unfamiliar with CBCs, it’s the time of year when birders gather all across North and South America in order to count birds.
This year New Mexico has three location spots that settle right near the Albuquerque area. The first spot is the VDO spot which is south of Albuquerque heading towards Bosque Farms. Next you have the ABQ area, which covers most of Albuquerque and bleeds into Bernalillo and Sandoval County. Lastly, the Sandia zone covers the Sandia Mountains and the East Mountain towns of Cedar Crest and Tijeras.
According to the National Audubon Society’s website, the concept of CBCs was first established in 1900 when a group of conservationists came together to promote counting birds instead of hunting them. On Christmas Day in the year 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a “Christmas Bird Census” that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them.
Thus began the Christmas Bird Count. Now the locations of the Christmas Bird Count ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Albuquerque. Each November, birders interested in participating in the CBC can sign up and join in through the Audubon’s website. From December 14 through January 5, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, or rain to take part in the effort.
The data collected by observers over the past century allows Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.
The Christmas Bird Count is still going on and it’s not too late to join the fun. If you are interested in more information about the bird count and participating in this count go to audubon.org. You can also contact the NM compiler, Nick Pederson at ndpederson83@gmail.com before the count date of December 26.
Looking for a quick and easy way to identify birds around you? There’s an app for that! The Audubon Bird Guide App is a free and complete field guide to over 800 species of North American birds.
Download it here: http://audubon.org/app