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The Tyler Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be held on
Saturday, December 19. This will be the 57th consecutive
year that Tyler Audubon Society will have taken part in the
National Audubon Society's CBC. Our count is one of over 2,000
count areas that will be surveyed from dawn to dusk this year
throughout Central and North America. Some of the Caribbean
Islands, Hawaii, and several Pacific Islands are also included in
the count. Each count area is a circle with a diameter of 15 miles
(an area of about 177 square miles). Contact Peter Barnes:903-839-8359 or pbarnes123(at)gmail(dot)com for information. Volunteers welcome!!
We need your help! Experience is not a requirement, only your
willingness to participate. You may take part in the field counting
for the full day or just in the morning or afternoon. Those of you
who would like to count birds at your feeders on this day can also
make an important contribution. In either case call us at the phone
number listed below.
Unusual birds seen prior to the count day are also important. If
you see any birds during the week leading up to December 19
that are not commonly seen, please contact us so we can pass this
information along to the appropriate area count leader.
The results of all the Christmas Bird Counts across the country
will be published by the National Audubon Society in a special
issue of American Birds. Those field counters who pay a $5.00
fee will receive this special issue.
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Prior to the turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt": They would choose sides and go afield with their guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.
Conservation was in its beginning stages around the turn of the 20th century, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition-a "Christmas Bird Census"-that would count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them. |
So began the Christmas Bird Count. Thanks to the inspiration of Frank M. Chapman and the enthusiasm of twenty-seven dedicated birders, twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America. Those original 27 Christmas Bird Counters tallied a total of 90 species on all the counts combined.
First CBC: December 25, 1900
About 18,500 individual birds and 27 total participants
Cumulative bird species list:
90 species total
* Common Loon
* Horned Grebe
* American Black Duck
* Mallard
* Common Goldeneye
* Turkey Vulture
* Red-shouldered Hawk
* Red-tailed Hawk
* Ferruginous Hawk
* Northern Goshawk
* American Kestrel
* Northern Bobwhite
* California Quail
* Greater Prairie-Chicken
* Ruffed Grouse
* Killdeer
* Herring Gull
* Great Black-backed Gull
* Band-tailed Pigeon
* Mourning Dove
* Barred Owl
* Burrowing Owl
* Common Poor-will
* Anna's Hummingbird
* White-headed Woodpecker
* Red-bellied Woodpecker
* Lewis' Woodpecker
* Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
* Hairy Woodpecker
* Downy Woodpecker |
* Northern Flicker
* Say's Phoebe
* Black Phoebe
* Blue Jay
* Scrub Jay
* American Crow
* Fish Crow
* Black-billed Magpie
* European Starling
* Horned Lark
* American Pipit
* Winter Wren
* Carolina Wren
* Brown Creeper
* White-breasted Nuthatch
* White-throated Sparrow
* White-crowned Sparrow
* Golden-crowned Sparrow
* Fox Sparrow
* Dark-eyed Junco
* Eastern Meadowlark
* Western Meadowlark
* Red-winged Blackbird
* Brewer's Blackbird
* Common Grackle
* Pine Grosbeak
* House Finch
* Purple Finch
* American Goldfinch
* Red Crossbill |
* Red-breasted Nuthatch
* Pygmy Nuthatch
* Black-capped Chickadee
* Mountain Chickadee
* Carolina Chickadee
* Tufted Titmouse
* Plain Titmouse
* Bushtit
* Wrentit
* Ruby-crowned Kinglet
* Golden-crowned Kinglet
* Brown Creeper
* Northern Shrike
* Loggerhead Shrike
* Eastern Bluebird
* Western Bluebird
* Hermit Thrush
* Varied Thrush
* American Robin
* Northern Mockingbird
* Hutton's Vireo
* Townsend's Warbler
* Yellow-rumped Warbler
* Spotted Towhee
* Canyon Towhee
* Northern Cardinal
* American Tree Sparrow
* Field Sparrow
* Song Sparrow
* Swamp Sparrow |
* Scotch Lake, York County, New Brunswick
* Toronto, Ontario
* Keene, New Hampshire
* Belmont and Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts
* Winchester, Massachusetts
* Bristol, Connecticut
* Norwalk, Connecticut
* Auburn to Owasco Lake, New York
* Central Park, New York City, New York
* Englewood, New Jersey
* Moorestown, New Jersey
* Newfield, New Jersey |
* Baldwin, Louisiana
* Pueblo, Colorado
* Germantown, Pennsylvania
* Wyncote, Pennsylvania
* Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Oberlin, Ohio
* Glen Elyn, Illinois
* North Freedom, Sauk County, Wisconsin
* La Grange, Missouri
* Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California
* Neshaminy Creek & Upper Delaware River, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Delaware River Meadows, Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania |
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|
36 |
|
68 |
|
1 |
|
51 |
| American Green-winged Teal |
|
7 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
|
17 |
|
6 |
| Bufflehead |
8 |
| Hooded Merganser |
8 |
| Red-breasted Merganser |
3 |
| Ruddy Duck |
23 |
| Common Loon |
3 |
|
48 |
|
2 |
|
812 |
|
200 |
| Great Blue Heron (Blue form) |
|
37 |
|
8 |
|
162 |
|
229 |
|
1 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
3 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
|
29 |
|
28 |
|
1 |
|
17 |
|
1 |
|
346 |
|
297 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
|
1818 |
|
2 |
|
8 |
|
95 |
|
4 |
|
100 |
|
11 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
13 |
|
9 |
|
85 |
|
39 |
|
43 |
|
6 |
| Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker |
|
42 |
|
15 |
|
79 |
|
7 |
|
1 |
|
3 |
|
181 |
| American Crow |
487 |
| Carolina Chickadee |
216 |
|
146 |
|
35 |
|
7 |
|
7 |
|
139 |
|
2 |
|
2 |
|
5 |
|
1 |
|
14 |
|
90 |
|
2 |
|
530 |
|
10 |
|
11623 |
|
100 |
|
24 |
|
307 |
|
29 |
|
3789 |
|
18 |
| Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler |
|
511 |
|
65 |
|
1 |
|
23 |
|
495 |
|
143 |
|
74 |
|
25 |
|
3 |
|
60 |
|
14 |
|
33 |
|
443 |
|
6 |
|
48 |
|
2 |
|
7 |
| Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco |
|
146 |
|
198 |
|
3824 |
|
32 |
|
12 |
|
1 |
|
5 |
|
29112 |
|
1 |
|
20 |
|
161 |
|
11 |
|
1 |
|
254 |
|
55 |
|
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Birding and nature festivals of Texas
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The 14th Annual GTBC will be April 24 – May 2, 2010
What is The Great Texas Birding Classic?
The Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC), sponsored by the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is a friendly, but serious birding for conservation tournament. It is held each year during April to coincide with the spectacular spring bird migration in Texas. During the tournament, teams vie to see who can spot and record the most bird species in a given time period. The adult teams with the highest species counts win the privilege of choosing the conservation projects that will be awarded Conservation Grant Grand Prizes.
To date, the GTBC has contributed $686,000 directly to avian habitat conservation along the Texas gulf coast through the Conservation Grant funding. Prior to each year's competition, organizations submit conservation project proposals to win funding through the grants awarded by the winning teams.
Mission Statement
To increase appreciation, understanding and conservation of birds along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail through education, recreation, nature tourism and conservation fundraising.
Why is Bird Habitat Conservation Important?
Currently, 633 species of birds have been documented in Texas. Over 400 species can be found along the Texas coast during spring migration. All of these birds are present due to the highly diverse habitats along the Texas coast. Each year we watch more and more habitat being significantly altered. Forty years of bird population data from Christmas Bird Counts and Breeding Bird Surveys were analyzed by National Audubon to determine bird population status. Since 1967 the average population of the common birds in steepest decline has fallen by 68 percent; some individual species nose-dived as much as 80 percent. All 20 birds on the national Common Birds in Decline list lost at least half their populations in just four decades.
These findings point to serious problems with both local habitats and national environmental trends. Only citizen action can make a difference for the birds and the state of our future.
While conservation organizations and agencies are working harder than ever to preserve habitat, we all have resource limitations. It is the support and generosity of corporations, communities, local businesses and caring individuals that enable additional habitat preservation. Working together, we are making a difference.
For additional information please go to the Texas Parks & Wildlife website or contact Tournament Coordinator Carol Jones , telephone (979) 480-0999. If you would be interested in purchasing posters or T-shirts from previous Birding Classics, please visit our Nature Store .
Click here for a booklet about the past several years of conservation cash grand prize project funding. |
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January 13–17, 2010
Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival Willcox, Arizona 800-200-2272 Come to Arizona's mecca for wintering Sandhill Cranes, raptors and sparrows. There will be a banquet featuring Rich Glinski as keynote speaker: "Getting a Clue from Burrowing Owls," as well as tours and seminars on birding, geology, history and more. Additional information and registration forms are currently available online or call 800.200.2272 to receive a brochure. Connie Bonner chamberacct@vtc.net www.wingsoverwillcox.com
January 27–February 1, 2010
13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Titusville, Florida 321-368-5224, 321-268-0921 (fax) Neta Harris neta@natureandspace.com www.nbbd.com/fly
February 5–7, 2010
Cape Ann Winter Birding Weekend Gloucester, Massachusetts 978-283-1601, 978-283-4740 (fax) Judy Caulkett judy@capeannchamber.com www.capeannchamber.com/birdingweekend
February 27, 2010
SW Florida 8th Annual Burrowing Owl Festival Cape Coral, Florida Katie Locklin, 239-549-4606 Pascha Donaldson, 239-980-2593 ed.pascha@att.net www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org
March 5–7, 2010
International Festival of Owls Houston, Minnesota 507-896-HOOT (4668) info@festivalofowls.com www.festivalofowls.com
March 3–7, 2010
San Diego Bird Festival San Diego Audubon Society San Diego, CA 92110 619-682-7200 David Kimball, birdfest@cox.net Karen Straus, kstraus@san.rr.com www.sandiegoaudubon.org
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