Count Birds at Home for the CBC

Count Birds at Home for the CBC

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Feeder Watch program is the fast-growing part of the annual Christmas Bird Count. Thousands of people watch birds in their yards and at their feeders and now they are joining to count birds for the CBC.

We invite you to join them and count birds for this year’s CBC on Saturday, December 20.

By volunteering to count birds in your yard whether you have a feeder or not, you will contribute to the science of tracking the birds in our community and we need the data.

Registration for the CBC Feeder Watch Program is open and will close on December 13. To register, first you must check if you living within the CBC Count Circle. This is a 15-mile radius centered on Beaver Lake in Sammamish. You can check if you (or a friend!) live within the counter circle using this interactive map.

HERE IS WHAT TO DO

During a two-hour period when you know birds will be present at your feeders, watch and count which birds visit your backyard. We will provide a tally sheet and further instructions. All you need to do is spot and identify birds! Once you have the bird totals you send the tally sheet back to us and we do the rest, and we add your bird totals to the birds the field teams find as they scour parks and the lakeshore for birds during the day. It’s easy and it’s fun and your data is important.

If you have any questions or would like further information on the Feeder Watch program, contact CBC compiler Andy McCormick at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org

Please visit our CBC page to learn more about being a Feeder Watcher or joining a Field Team!

Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Written by Andy McCormick

What good fortune we had on December 16 for the EAS 40th annual Christmas Bird Count! We Welcomed the moderate temperature and clear skies after last year’s freezing temperatures and the all-day rain, the year before. The birds were active and early returns show that we had exciting finds of Greater White-fronted Geese at Idlewood Park, a Redhead on Lake Sammamish, a Ruddy Duck at Lake Hills, and 40 Wilson’s Snipe at Perego Park. Other notable birds seen were Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and a Red-necked Grebe.

The chapter fielded 15 teams with 51 volunteers counting birds and feeder watchers added to the count. We also had six more volunteers who prepared, set up, and hosted the CBC dinner at the Kirkland Women’s Center. Nearly 40 people attended the dinner, which was the first one held since the pandemic. It was wonderful to see folks in person and get re-acquainted with other chapter members and guests.

A full report of the CBC including totals for all the bird species seen will be ready around early February when data is due for delivery to National Audubon. This was the 124th count that National Audubon has sponsored since its founding in 1900. The fifteen EAS teams went to the Snoqualmie Valley, Fall City and Preston, Redmond and Ames Lake, Marymoor Park, Sammamish and Pine Lake, Lake Sammamish State Park, the East Lake Sammamish Trail, West Lake Sammamish Parks, the Lake Hills Greenbelt, along Issaquah Creek and into the Issaquah Alps at Tiger and Cougar Mountains, and the Issaquah Fish Hatchery.

Mark your calendar for 2024. The EAS CBC is scheduled for Saturday, December 21, 2024.