Spotted Sandpiper by Bob Boekelheide
Clallam County Birdathon and World Migratory Bird Day May 8, 2021
by Bob Boekelheide
Bob Boekelheide
The second Saturday in May is World Migratory Bird Day, when OPAS traditionally holds its Clallam County Birdathon. We'd like everyone to get outside and count birds in Clallam County on May 8, along with helping to raise money for important OPAS projects.
Some locations in Clallam County are still closed due to Covid-19, but fortunately many others are open, particularly for outside activities like birding. No matter where you live or visit in Clallam County, please find some birds on May 8. You can go to your favorite birding spots, go for walks around your neighborhood, or simply tally birds in your yards and at your feeders. If you know a birdy park or shoreline that's open nearby, please go count some birds.
On May 8, please keep track of the species and numbers of birds you see, along with where you count and the miles and hours you travel. This helps make comparisons between years, which is particularly important. If you have a feeder, enter the high count you see during the day; so for example, if you see 8 House Finches at 8 a.m. and 5 House Finches at 9 a.m., list 8 House Finches with your count.
There is a Birdathon tally sheet available either in Harlequin Happenings or at the OPAS website. After the count, email your lists to me at bboek@olympus.net, either by scanning them or by just typing out the species and numbers in the body of your email. Or you can be old-fashioned and mail the tally sheet to the address on the back, but I prefer email. Alternatively, you can enter your data using eBird on the day of the count, but please send me an email with the URL of your eBird lists, so I know they exist.
Most years we hold a pre-Birdathon field trip one week before the count, but like other OPAS field trips it is not happening yet because of COVID.
Money raised during Birdathon helps support many OPAS necessities, from printing and internet costs, to insurance for field trips, to supporting conservation programs. People sponsor the Birdathon with a pledge based on total count results, or some get their own sponsors to support their individual tallies, or others just send a generous donation with their Birdathon letter. If you prefer, you can now donate online to Birdathon on the Donate page of our website.
Please email Bob Boekelheide to sign up to count, or simply do your count and send your tallies right away when finished. Our goal remains unchanged -- to produce a one-day snapshot of the birds of Clallam County on the second Saturday in May. Thank you!
Spotted Sandpiper by Bob Boekelheide