The Thanksgiving Day celebrations are barely behind us, and we are already full speed ahead toward Christmas. One holiday tradition celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, and it continues to add new participants each year.
The Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) started in 1900 by a bird fan who suggested that families spend Christmas Day together documenting birds they see and hear, rather than the time-honored task of going out in groups to shoot as many winged creatures as possible.
It is nearly unfathomable that bird-hunting once was so common that it inspired someone to offer an alternative. I know I was not above killing birds for the fun of it less than 50 years ago, so what may be more surprising is that the bird-count idea actually took off.
Thousands of volunteers in more than 2,000 locations across the western hemisphere will go out for one day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 and record all the birds they encounter in their specific area. All of that data is collected to create one of the largest sets of survey information in the world. Bird biologists, naturalists and environmental planners study the data to make recommendations based on the trends of recent years and decades.
Anyone with an interest in birds is welcome to participate. CBC Circles have a 15-mile radius and are led by a compiler. Joining the effort is as simple as reaching out to the organizer and offering to brave the winter weather for the benefit of a few feathered friends.
The only circle that catches a part of Jefferson County is based near Maeystown, Ill. The edge of the circle crosses the Mississippi River just north of Crystal City and follows the riverfront to just south of the Truman Access. Michael Avara is the compiler for the Monroe County circle and can be reached via email at avara@illinois.wdu.
Other St. Louis area circles are based at Weldon Spring in St. Charles County, near Fort Bellefontaine in north St. Louis County and outside of Collinsville in Madison County, Ill. Immediately south of Jefferson County are circles east of Perryville and at Johnson Shut-Ins State Park in Reynolds County.
If the event date is more important than location for planning purposes, the local circles are all scheduled to conduct their surveys on different dates. The Weldon Spring survey will be held on Dec. 15. The Maeystown date is Dec. 27, and Collinsville will go on Dec. 28. The Fort Bellefontaine date is Jan. 1. The circle from Johnson Shut-Ins will look for birds on Jan. 3, and the Mid-Mississippi River group near Perryville is scheduled for Jan. 4.
Details and contact information for each location can be found at audubon.org. Beginning birders can be paired with more experienced participants, but everyone starts by signing up online with the society’s Community Science program. Those who join receive a quarterly online publication called American Birds.
The newsletter includes information on all of the work Audubon does to study and save bird species. It also brings the story full circle. Frank Chapman, publisher of Bird Lore, was the man who suggested the Christmas Bird Count 125 years ago. His publication evolved to become Audubon Magazine. Nature lovers have the chance to carry on his holiday tradition.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.