a Bohemian Waxwing earlier this yearThe first Christmas Bird count took place on Christmas Day, 1900. It was organized as a reaction to the tradition of the Christmas Side Hunt in which participants would choose “sides” and then proceed with their guns to the fields and woods to shoot as many birds and wild creatures as possible. Ornithologist Frank Chapman decided there was the potential for a better holiday tradition, namely counting birds in a “Christmas Bird Census”! In that first Christmas Bird Census there were 27 participants who observed 90 species of birds and approximately 18,500 individual birds. In contrast, the 111th Christmas Bird Count achieved a new all-time record with 62,624 participants representing 2,215 counts of which 1,714 were in the United States, 394 in Canada with the remainder in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. Of the 61,359,451 individual birds tallied, 57,542,123 were in the United States and 3,355,759 were in Canada. In Vermont we contributed 18 local counts to the international effort. The Annual Christmas Bird Count, now in its 112th year is both the largest and the longest running citizen science project anywhere!
Last year marked the 37th consecutive annual count by Rutland County Audubon. Thirty-one field observers in 8 teams covered 25.5 miles on foot and 310.5 miles by car. In addition there were 6 feeder watchers. Their combined efforts tallied 9,260 individual birds across 51 species. Record high counts were achieved for Pileated Woodpecker (16), Common Raven (41) and Bohemian Waxwing (798). For a description of last year’s count click here.
Rutland County’s 38th Annual Christmas Bird Count is set for Saturday, December 31. The count circle is 15 miles in diameter and is centered where old Route 4A crosses the Otter Creek in Center Rutland. Feeder watchers and field observers are always most welcome to join in this annual quest. As tradition dictates, a pot luck dinner follows at the Proctor Free Library at 6 o’clock in the evening, affording an opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of fellow birders as a tentative list of the day’s sightings is developed. Mark your calendars to reserve the date and call Roy Pilcher at 775-3461 if you are interested in participating.