Fox Sparrow in snow—Photo: Mick Thompson
Christmas Bird Counts are Coming!
by Bob Boekelheide
Mark your calendars! The annual Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count (SDCBC) will occur this year on Monday, Dec.15. If you’re really into Christmas Bird Counting, you have other opportunities -- the Port Angeles CBC occurs on Saturday, Dec. 27, the Port Townsend CBC occurs on Saturday, Dec. 20, and the Neah Bay CBC occurs on Sunday, Dec. 14.
Let’s party! This year is the 50th SDCBC. The first official SDCBC occurred in 1975, so technically last year should have been the 50th anniversary, but the 1990 SDCBC was cancelled because of an ice storm. This, then, is our 50th.
Christmas counts cover a 15-mile diameter circle. The center of the SDCBC circle is near the intersection of Brown and Port Williams Roads, so it includes Dungeness Spit, Dungeness and Sequim Bays, Protection Island, Diamond Point, and into the Olympic foothills south of Sequim. The PACBC center is in the Olympic foothills south of Port Angeles, so it includes Port Angeles Harbor, several miles of the Elwha River on the west to Morse Creek on the east, plus all the way up to Hurricane Ridge, a huge elevation range for any CBC.
CBCs need lots of knowledgeable participants to cover as much ground as possible. If you are an experienced counter, we can use you by either joining another group or by helping to cover an area. If you are a new Christmas counter and can identify birds, you can count the birds around your neighborhood or backyards (assuming you live in a count circle). We must also keep close track of our times and mileages, to make comparisons with other counts and other years. To prepare, please go birding as much as possible before the counts, as well as join bird walks at the River Center on Wednesday mornings and go on OPAS field trips.
If you are interested in participating, email Bob Boekelheide at bboek@olympus.net to sign up for the SDCBC. Barb Blackie, at blackieb@olypen.com, coordinates the Port Angeles CBC. Steve Hampton, at stevechampton@gmail.com coordinates the Port Townsend CBC. And Charlie Wright, at cwright770@gmail.com coordinates the Neah Bay CBC. Thank you!