Tallies 110 Confirmed Species:
64th Annual Westport Christmas Bird Count conducted Dec. 19
(Appeared in Westport News 12/22)
By Mike Lauterborn
ã 2010. All Rights Reserved.
12/19/10
Fairfield, CT – With all the preliminary count data in, Townsend Dickinson announced that 110 different species of birds had been officially observed.
He and his wife, Mardi, are this year’s data compilers for the 64th Annual Westport Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The local count, which is part of a larger National Audubon Society effort being conducted nationwide, occurred over a 24-hour period from midnight to midnight Sunday, Dec. 19. Its goal is to identify and count each species of bird and record how many of each type are seen in a day, within a 15-mile diameter count circle centered at Westport’s Twin Bridges on Route 57.
Counters are all volunteers and range in ability from “pigeon feeders” to very knowledgeable birders. The more experienced individuals are paired with those of lesser experience and most begin looking for birds at sunrise. More ambitious types go out several hours earlier searching for owls and rails.
The CBC results are published in a large report along with input from 1,700 other counts conducted nationwide and throughout the Americas. The concept was initiated 111 years ago and is the longest running annual census of bird populations in the country. About 44,000 birdwatchers serve as counters.
To celebrate their achievement and submit their data, local participants gathered at the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Birdcraft Museum at 314 Unquowa Road at the conclusion of the day’s counting. It was an appropriate site as the oldest bird sanctuary in the United States, started by Mabel Osgood Wright.
While warming themselves and feasting on fare that included lasagna, soup, pizza and ribs, the group of 18 chirped about the day’s activities and unusual sightings.
One of several captains, Charlie Barnard, 66, who led a counting group of six along the Fairfield shore area, spoke about how he got started as a birder. “I just started birding out of curiosity as a kid of 10. Fifty six years later and I’m still doing it. I initially wanted to know bird names, then they became intriguing as I associated the birds with the places from which they’d migrated. It appeals to your imagination. To see a bird bred in the Arctic and bound for South America and to catch him on the way is really interesting.”
His group had started at 7 a.m. and finished at 4:30 p.m. “It was a challenge trying to get to the end of Penfield Reef at low tide. We couldn’t make it today as the northeastern wind was pushing the tide into normally uncovered spots,” he said.
“We saw large numbers of water fowl – not only a lot of species but also a lot of individual birds,” Barnard said. “For instance, we saw 400 Common Goldeneye, a small duck that’s a winter resident down here. We saw one Northern Gannett, which normally nests in rock cliffs in the Canadian maritime area.”
About the counting process, Barnard says he’ll count to 100 birds and then overlay that image on the remaining flock to get a fairly accurate estimate. Numbers are recorded on field cards that the teams carry. These list 406 different species that have historically been recorded in Connecticut.
Two of Barnard’s team members were James Purcell, 14, a Fairfield Ludlowe High School student, and Alex Burdo, 14, an Unquowa School student. Purcell spoke about how he got his birding start. “When I was 7, I got a bird guide in the mail from the Audubon Society, got hooked and started going out birdwatching. Then I heard about the Connecticut Bird List, an online forum that provides info about where certain species can be found in the state. I started going birding all over Connecticut and then joined the count last year.”
Purcell inspired Burdo to join him this year. “There were a lot of great birds,” Burdo said. “I saw two Redheads, which are very uncommon in Connecticut. The Red-Breasted Nuthatch at a person’s feeder was also cool. My top favorite bird of the day was an Ipswich Savannah, a sparrow that only breeds in Sable Island in Canada.”
To record all the species, Townsend called out each species’ name from a field card to the group and they would let him know if they had seen one or not. Often, he would ask where and to provide more detail. The group had noted several species that were not on the list, including an Eider, Barnacle Goose and Cackling Goose. Each will need to be further documented.
“I loved being out there today and collaborating with other birders… but especially seeing all the different birds,” said Purcell, with a clear fondness for feathered friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment