Christmas count was for the birds

Last Sunday was cool and sunny as 17 volunteer scientists spread out to look for birds. For 52 years this Christmas time tradition has been carried out in the Gunnison Valley. The effort is part of a larger nationwide and international scientific effort by the Audubon Society to gather reliable data on the status of bird populations that has been going on for 126 years.

To ensure consistency from year to year a standard count circle was established here that covers about 177 square miles. The circle is broken down into sectors and teams of volunteers are assigned to each sector to record all the birds they can find. The results are compiled locally then sent in to a national database to be used to construct a snapshot of bird populations as they occupy their wintering grounds. 

Local birding teams drove 205 miles and walked 24 miles to explore the different habitats that could be reached given this year’s snow cover. Several other participants kept watch at their bird feeders to see what moved through during the day. All together the group found 43 different species and 3,159 individual birds that were adaptable enough to survive the harsh winter in Gunnison. 

Those results are lower than many past counts. Individual numbers are 9% lower than last year and 20% lower than the average over the last 35 years. Year-to-year variation is to be expected given different conditions, but variation from the long term average is more meaningful. This is why the data gathered in long term studies like the Christmas Bird Count is so important. 

On a larger scale, the compilation of a variety of data shows that bird populations in North America have dropped almost 30% (close to three billion birds) since 1970. There is not one clear cause for all of this, but instead a combination of factors contribute to these disturbing trends. Those include habitat loss, climate change, increased use of pesticides and other chemicals, predation by domestic cats and other factors. Some of those factors affect the Gunnison Valley and some are less significant here. But since birds are mobile throughout their lives negative effects in one part of their range can be seen in other areas. One way or another, the data gathered in these local efforts will help us keep track of larger trends and issues in bird conservation.