The Christmas Bird Count has been happening for over 125 years. The count provides a way for ordinary people to get outside and gather important data for scientists. And every year, tens of thousands of people join in.
“The fun thing about birding is, you don’t have to be an advanced birder," said Tonya Kieffer-Selby, who works for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "You can be a new birder and join up with maybe more advanced birding groups.”
She’s a longtime participant in the bird count and said every year brings delight and surprises. This year, she’s hoping to encounter some new feathered friends along with more familiar species.
“We had a crested caracara, which is crazy because it was a bird way off course from Arizona and New Mexico, and he was hanging out in my count circle area for a very long time before he made a jump down towards Provo and Spanish Fork Canyon,” she said. “And so, if that bird was around, I may pass out and die.”
Besides that rare southern bird, Kieffer-Selby will also be on the lookout for snow buntings, who migrate south from the Arctic each winter and sometimes make it down to Utah.
She said birders in the Wasatch Back can join this year’s count at an event Saturday, Jan. 3, at Wasatch Mountain State Park.
Numbers will be submitted to the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where researchers can study trends in migration patterns or the health of different species. Last year, participants in the Christmas Bird Count tallied over 44 million birds.
Kieffer-Selby said winter is a great time of year for birding.
“When it’s cold out, the birds are gathered together, and there’s ‘leaf-off,’” she said. “When you have leaves on the trees, it’s a lot harder to see. Leaf-off offers you the opportunity to see the birds a little bit more clearly.”
She encouraged beginner birders to track down a pair of binoculars and a field guide and give the hobby a try, starting in their own backyards.
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “Birds come in such a variety of colors, and they sing so many wonderful songs. Once you start birding, you start listening, you start looking – they’re everywhere.”
Kieffer-Selby said birdwatchers can also join the Utah Birding Slam, which challenges people of all experience levels to get to know more of their feathered neighbors.
