From December 15 to January 5, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists go out on this annual mission, complete with binoculars, bird guides and checklists. The desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of their warm houses.
Each citizen scientist (that’s you) who annually braves snow, ice, wind or rain, makes an enormous contribution to conservation. Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and many other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation action. It is (or should be) consulted by various levels of government when deciding if development is feasible or not.
Bowen’s contribution to the Christmas Bird Count will be on Saturday, January 4, 2020 and the Bowen Nature Club invites you to take part. The more pairs of eyes and ears the better. Bowen is part of the Howe Sound Count Circle, a 15-mile radius taking in other nearby islands, Lions Bay and some of West Vancouver.
Your level of bird expertise matters not––it’s an opportunity to improve your knowledge by teaming up with someone more experienced. Participation during any daylight hours you can spare would be welcome or you can stay home and count the birds at your feeder. It is best to start early because the light can begin to fail as early as 2:30 p.m. Forms, maps and protocol will be provided.
Another way to contribute is that if you have significant bird habitat on your property (this includes wetlands, shoreline and open grassland or farm), let us know if you don’t mind having a birder access these areas to include them in the count.
We would also like to put a call out for a boat to capture Paisley, Worlcombe, and Ragged Island, which are technically in our area as well. These islands haven’t been included in the past few years and it’s a shame we’re missing them. As these islands are privately owned, we can’t dock on them but we can certainly bird from a boat nearby.
If you have any interest in any of these activities, please contact Micaele Florendo at (604) 838-2321 and she will fill you in.
Just in case you are wondering: no, I haven’t returned to Bowen, not even for a visit over Christmas but I do miss you all and taking part in the count. The U.K. winter count is simple compared to the North American––it only requires an hour of my time on one day.
I wish you fun, fair weather and fab birds (with the climate breaking down, there is more chance of something unusual being seen.)
