Flagstaff Christmas Bird Count - December 14th, approx 8:00am to 4:30pm

The Flagstaff Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, December 14th.  The 15 mile-radius count circle is centered on Mount Elden. Teams of birdwatchers drive and walk the area that they are assigned. You do not have to be an expert, just interested in birds. Feeder watchers simply count birds at their feeders and report the totals to the Circle Leader.

To participate get in touch with the circle leaders to be assigned to a team or to learn the parameters of how to count birds at your feeder.  You do not have to participate all the live long day ;-) Join a team for part or all of the day. Also, count birds at your feeder for an hour or more.

After the data is collected, you send it to your Circle Leader, and it is added to a report. You are welcome to participate in as many circles as you wish.

Anyone interested in participating can contact the Circle Leaders, Elaine Lockey:  elainelockey@gmail.com and Liz Bauer:  tillietooter44@yahoo.com.

Background:  On a calendar, Christmas might appear as one day, but if you are a bird watcher, the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is actually a 23 day event. The CBC is one of the world's oldest and longest-running citizen science efforts. The count takes place from December 14 to January 5. It is organized into circles, and each circle counts as many birds as possible on one day, either on a predetermined route, or at their backyard bird feeder. Data is compiled, and used to learn about long-term bird trends. The data collected has been used in many reports and publications, such as the State of the Birds Report, which the Service produces. Learn more about CBCs