Christmas is for the birds

sF

For many many years I have participated in the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. The tradition of counting birds all across North America began Christmas Day, 1900. Since that time, the event has grown to include tens of thousands of bird watchers, who commit to counting individual birds between mid November and early January. The data collected is used to evaluate bird species, their movements and population numbers. We begin early, because - well you know - EARLY BIRD? Well, the birds get up early, as I am sure you know. But, on cold mornings, they do seem to be sleeping in a bit!

I will just say it - Yes, I live in ARIZONA. But, I do not live in the extra warm clime of the desert lowlands. I live in the Central Arizona highlands. So, when we start out it is c-c-c-cold!

I know, right? Who on earth would go bird watching when it is 25 degrees F???

Well, that would be us. There is a coordinator for each geographical area, and that person assigns areas to leaders who go into the field. I follow my friend, Bonnie, who is an excellent birder, and has taught bird watching for decades. We have always gone through the same woods. We tromp around for a few hours, looking for birds, and then counting them.

Off we go! Best remember these little beauties:

As we begin the sun is low, and not helpful at all in keeping us warm. But, as it reaches the tree tops, the birds come out and begin their day with a few rays of warmth. We like it when the sun rises a bit more, and warms us too!

Bonnie does the recording, and she will report our numbers later.

A drop in the bucket of data collected into the database!

I do not understand her shorthand!

The thing I love about this morning event is that we see so much beauty as we tromp around. Not only the beauty of the birds, but we see so many other beautiful things.

We do not usually see earth shattering bird species. We count Raven after Raven, and Dove after Dove. BUT, there always seems to be a bird or two that stand out. They really make your day. Today, of our first three birds sighted, two were owls! A Barn Owl and a Great Horned Owl.

The Barn Owl we saw was sleeping. He really was this cute! (This is a stock photo - I did not take it.)

We also saw a few of these Red Naped Sapsuckers - very pretty. They are winter residents in our part of Arizona.

(I didn't take this photo either!)

So, all in all it was a lovely morning. The sun warmed us up, and by the time I drove home, I realized that I had WAY too many clothes on!

The bird count will continue in our area and all over North America. There are a few other day outings in our area for the count, but I usually only go this one day each year. I look forward to it and would not miss it for the world!