BIRD COUNT: If you’ve got an interest in birds, a pair of
binoculars, and some time to spare, the Audubon Society needs
you!

It’s called the 110th Annual Christmas Bird Count and takes
place Dec. 14-Jan. 5.

Pennsylvania Game Commission sent us a note, urging wildlife
enthusiasts to join the tens of thousands of volunteers throughout
the United States for this annual event.

“Each year, volunteers brave snow, wind, or rain, to take part
in the Christmas Bird Count, and they have made an enormous
contribution to conservation to help guide conservation actions,”
said Dan Brauning, the commission’s Wildlife Diversity Section
supervisor.

This census allows researchers, conservation biologists, and
other interested individuals to study the long-term health and
status of bird populations across North America. When combined with
other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a
picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in
time and space over the past hundred years.

The count itself takes place within “Count Circles”  which focus
on specific geographical areas. Each circle is led by a “Count
Compiler,” an experienced birdwatcher. Also, those who live within
the boundaries of a Count Circle can even stay at home and report
the birds that visit their backyard feeders, or join a group of
birdwatchers in a local field.

Local counts will occur on one day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.
Volunteers can pick the most convenient circle, or participate in
more than one count. There is a specific methodology to the CBC,
but everyone can participate.

In either case, if you have never been on a CBC before your
first step is to locate and contact your local Count Compiler to
find out how you can volunteer,  Brauning said.

To view instructions on how to search for a circle and sign-up
for an open count, visit the Game Commission’s website
(www.pgc.state.pa.us). Information is also available at websites
run by Audubon or the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “People everywhere confuse what they read in
newspapers with news,” said A.J. Liebling, journalist, press
critic, 1956.