BROOKINGS – The 2018 Brookings Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, organizers announced this week.
The Brookings Birding Club is conducting the local count and welcomes any and all participants.
In recent years there have been several sightings of bald eagles and snowy owls among the approximately 50 species usually observed.
Those wishing to participate can contact Nelda Holden at 692-8278 or KC Jensen at 690-6104. The group will meet at the Brookings Nature Center at 8 a.m. Saturday to start the count.
Feeder watchers are also welcome to participate; contact Nelda or KC for specific instructions.
The Christmas Bird Count has been a yearly outing since 1900 and is organized and sponsored by the National Audubon Society. This year will be the 119th annual count, and it is the longest-running citizen-science effort in the United States.
On a single day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, birders and scientists across the country count all of the birds seen from before sunrise to after sunset in their search area. Led by the Audubon Society, the counts provide a snapshot of birds’ winter locations.
On a count, participants go afield for one day and list the number of individuals of each species they see. Their findings, when gathered together, answer questions such as, “How are the bluebirds doing?” and “What new birds are showing up?”
Last year, more than 68 million individual birds and 600 bird species were counted in the U.S. and Canada.
