Cedar Waxwing – Sandy Spicknall/Audubon Photography Awards
Tis the Season…
It’s December, and the Christmas Bird Count season is upon us! Yolo Bird Alliance is holding its annual CBC I.D. Workshop this Wednesday evening December 4 at 7pm at the Davis Senior Center. This will be an opportunity to speak with the area leaders and sign up for a count area if you haven’t already. Click here to see a list of the ten areas and their leaders. You’re encouraged to sign up now if you know where you want to bird during the count. Birders with accessibility concerns are encouraged to reach out to the leader of Area 9 (Lake Solano) where, for the first time, we will be having a stationary count.
Our leaders for the workshop are Compiler Bart Wickel and Area Leader Zane Pickus. They’ll give us background on the CBC, including the use of eBird, and also present tips on tricky bird I.D.s. It’s always an entertaining evening.
This year’s Putah Creek Count is on Sunday December 15, and, amazingly, this is our 54th CBC! National Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count program started in 1900 as an alternative to the traditional Christmas hunting competition where hunters competed to see which side could shoot the most birds. The Christmas Bird Count was proposed as a new holiday tradition to encourage people to count birds during the holidays instead of shooting them. The CBC is a great example of the value of citizen science, as the data collected by birders over the years provides important data to support bird conservation and inform studies on bird populations and migration.
The Putah Creek CBC on the 15th will be followed by the compilation dinner at the Davis Senior Center. The doors will open at 5pm, and the potluck and the program will begin around 6pm. Please bring a dish to share, and join us even if you didn’t participate in the count. The evening is open to all.
As most of you know, there are CBCs held all over California, and the world for that matter. Click here to see Sacramento Audubon’s recent information on some other area CBCs and consider signing up. Especially close is the Woodland/Davis CBC on December 27 with Compiler Bruce Christensen. You don’t need to limit yourself to just one count, and birders of all levels are encouraged to participate!
If you’re still looking for stocking stuffers, consider giving one of our new ball caps (see info on ordering in the lower left column of the newsletter) and perhaps making a donation to YBA if you haven’t done so already.
We’d like to wish everyone a happy and birdy holiday season!
–Ann Brice and Genevieve Colborn