Bird Census

By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc.

Depending how one counts, at least eleven world religions celebrate holidays in December, and although the twelve days of Christmas and the eight day celebration of Hanukkah begin on December 25, we at Crossroads are sharing an amalgam of holiday traditions all month.

The Biblical Christmas story mentions a “census” and “a star in the East.” This Saturday, Crossroads will take part in a bird census, an activity dating back to a truly non-religious holiday tradition.
That “star in the east” about which people have been asking? It truly is bright, but it is not a star, but rather a planet—Jupiter.

So Saturday, December 14, the Science Saturday Family Program at 2:00 will feature Juniper with a program co-sponsored by the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society.  And all that day plus the three days before and after, we will be conducting a census of birds as a part of a  citizen science effort called the Christmas Bird Count.

But why do we participate?  After all, we count birds at Crossroads almost every day, and so do other eBird participants. And we sponsor breeding bird surveys and have acoustic recorders through the preserves and now are part of theMotus WildlifeTracking System (Motus) which is an international collaborative research network that used coordinated automated radio telemetry to census birds. 

We do this because a bird census is one important metric for evaluating our restoration efforts. Birds are excellent indicators of ecosystem conditions. Unlike less mobile species, birds can fly. If their needs are not met, they fly somewhere else.  Consequently, by keeping records of the birds in our preserves, we can evaluate whether our restoration efforts are actually improving our various wildlife habitats.

But the Crossroads bird counts document the fluctuations in bird populations for about 200 acres over a relatively short period of time.

In contrast, during Christmas Bird Count,  70,000-80,000 volunteers count throughout the  the United States and Canada, as well as Central and South America, the Pacific Islands, West Indies, and Bermuda.

Obviously, a data base that large including more than a century of records is of enormous value to biological and climate scientists.

According to the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) website, “Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt.” They would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.

“Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a “Christmas Bird Census” that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them.”

Charlotte Lukes, who organizes the Door County CBC, selected December 14, the very first allowable date, for the Sturgeon Bay Count in hopes that the water on the bays would not be frozen. Most areas in the Sturgeon Bay area have been assigned to teams of hard-core birders who will spend the whole day in their assigned count areas.

We at Crossroads cover our area with experienced and novice volunteers—some who will be out all day and some who want to bird for a couple hours. If you are interested in participating, e-mail info@crossroads.com to be assigned to times and your count area.

 As soon as temperatures and snow depth are adequate,  Crossroads will groom designated trails and will offer Ski For Free, our recreational equipment lending program. Watch the Crossroads website www.crossroadsatbigcreek.org for current conditions.