The annual Iroquois Falls Christmas Bird Count is coming up on Saturday, December 14th. It covers a 12-kilometre radius around the Meadow Creek bridge.
Coordinator Rhonda Donley says there are two methods of participating.
“If you’ve got bird feeders and you know how to identify the birds that are coming to your feeders,” she says, “then you just pay attention to your feeders for a minimum of four hours out of the day and record the species that you see at your feeders.”
Donley says feeder watchers are particularly needed at Nellie Lake, Highway Beach, Porquis and Monteith.
The other method is along roads and trails by hiking, snowshoeing or skiing. The data is used along with almost 2,700 other counts in North and Central America to track population trends and changes in ranges.
Data collected goes to the Audubon Society the track bird population trends.
One example from this area is the evening grosbeak.
“It’s a big, beautiful, lovely bird,” Donley explains, along with what the Audubon Society has been learning.
“Based on Christmas Bird Count data, they’ve noticed that the populations are decreasing drastically, so it’s been assessed as being at risk.”
To find out more about how you can be involved, go to the Iroquois Falls Christmas Bird Count Facebook page.
