The very first Christmas Bird Count was held on Christmas Day in 1900. Now, 115 years later, the Bird Count is one of the largest “citizen science” efforts regularly held anywhere in the world.
The Sonoma Valley is a diverse region with more than 150 bird species – and for the past 10 years the Ecology Center has joined with local experts to co-sponsor the event, sharing extensive data and expertise.
The local version takes place on Sunday, December 30, with volunteer census-takers working within a circle 15 miles in diameter with the center at Grove Street and Arnold Drive. The area covers the upper Valley, Glen Ellen, Trinity Road, Sonoma Mountain, Wingo, and even Shollenberger Park in Petaluma.
The Audubon Society and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations – and to help guide conservation action.
The results of the count will help biologists understand how bird populations are changing in our region over time; added to the national and international figures, scientists are able to learn much about how bird species are faring around the world.
To sign up for the Sonoma Valley CBC on December 30, contact Gene Hunn at 707-981-7301 or by email at enhunn323@comcast.net.
The count will be followed, on January 3, with a parallel event growing in popularity: the Christmas Bird Count for Kids. Established in Sonoma Valley by Sonoma Birding founders Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie, the kids’ count is designed to carry on the tradition to future generations. To sign up, contact 707-939-8007 or sonomanature@gmail.com.
Count ’em while you can. Poisoned by vineyard pesticides, habitat destroyed by development and drought impacting their food sources, the numbers of birds are going down & down as the number of humans are going up & up.