On Wednesday, December 21st, I participated in the Prescott Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The first Christmas Bird Count took place on Christmas Day in 1900! When the concept of conducting a Christmas Bird Census was first introduced, the idea was to encourage individuals to count birds during the holiday, rather than hunting them.
Now in its 123rd year, the Christmas Bird Count continues nationwide, with thousands of participants throughout North America. My assigned area was Granite Basin, which covers a large geographical area—from the intersection of Iron Springs and Granite Basin Road, all the way to Granite Mountain.
The basic methodology employed is to assign individuals a specific area to canvas within a count “Circle”. Each observer strives to see and identify as many different bird species as possible on the day of the count and count how many birds of each species were observed.
Each participant tallies his results, and the information is submitted to the National Audubon Society for compiling. This type of citizen engagement is frequently referred to as “Citizen Science.” With thousands of individuals gathering data on the distribution and numbers of birds, we contribute to a body of knowledge.
Now, with over one hundred years of data, scientists can analyze and study trends to see what species have become more common or less common. They can also see—over time—where the distribution of species has changed. Some species have expanded their ranges, whereas the range for other species has retracted over time.
One of my personal goals when participating in the Christmas Count is to try and find a rare bird—a species that is not typically found here and is out of its normal range. During my participation in the bird count this past week, I had a few surprises. One such find was seeing a beautiful male northern harrier at Yavapai Campground. I’ve never had a harrier in this habitat before, so it was very exciting to see.
Down by Granite Basin Lake, I saw a single American goldfinch in winter plumage. This was certainly a surprise find. Interestingly, I didn’t see any lesser goldfinches all day. Another good find was a Pacific wren just west of the lake. This is a species that is considered rare for the area, so I was happy to see it.
For the day, I ended up with thirty-five species, and a total of 507 individual birds observed. The most abundant bird species I observed was the diminutive bushtit. I recorded 160 bushtits for the day!
Eric Moore is the owner of Jay’s Bird Barn, Arizona Field Optics, and Hallmark in
Prescott, Arizona. Eric has been an avid birder for over 50 years. If you have
questions about wild birds email him at eric@jaysbirdbarn.com.
