Sunday, December 19 – all day

The Peterborough Christmas Bird Count (CBC), now in its 70th year, is the longest-running wildlife survey in Peterborough County. The Peterborough CBC participants cover an area contained within a circle with a diameter of 24 kilometers, centered on the intersection of Chemong Road and Sunset Boulevard. This total count area is divided into smaller areas and a team of participants is assigned to each area.

Each year, Birds Canada and the National Audubon Society help coordinate and support the efforts of more than 2,500 counts throughout the western hemisphere. Christmas Bird Counts are run across Canada and the United States, as well as in Latin America, the Caribbean, and some Pacific Islands. Data collected during the Peterborough count includes details on the number of birds of each species seen or heard within a local 24-km diameter circle. Surveying this circle year after year contributes valuable long-term information on how winter birds are faring, both in our locale and across the country.

The Christmas Bird Count took root over a century ago when 27 birders in 25 localities from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California, led by ornithologist Frank Chapman, proposed a conservation-oriented alternative to the traditional ‘side hunt,’ a Christmas Day competition to hunt the most birds and small mammals. This alternative initiative to identify, count, and record all the birds found on Christmas Day 1900 has turned into one of North America’s longest-running wildlife monitoring programs. For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, or to find the location of additional counts, visit BirdsCanada’s website at birdscanada.org/cbc.

Organization of this year’s Peterborough count has commenced and members and friends of the PFN are invited to participate. There are 10 areas within the count circle, each which will be covered by a specific group of participants. The count area will be subdivided by the area leader in order to enhance coverage.

A map showing the count circle and areas is available on the PFN website www.peterboroughnature.org

Plan now to register and participate in this Peterborough birding tradition and citizen science project. To register contact Martin Parker (count compiler) as soon as possible by phone 705-745-4750 or by e-mail [email protected]. The area leaders can be contacted as well.

The areas and confirmed area leaders are as follows:

Chemong/Bridgenorth ……….. Don McLeod Miller Creek/Selwyn …………… Drew Monkman Lakefield/Otonabee East ………. Dave Milsom Douro Wedge………………………. Bill Crins & Mike Oldham Burnham ………………..Warren Dunlop & Janet Kelly Stewart Hall/Landfill ………….. Joan DiFruscia & Scott McKinlay Airport ………….. Matthew Tobey Cavan Swamp……………………… Chris Risley and Erica Nol. Jackson Park………………………… Jerry Ball & Kathy Parker Downtown…………………………… Martin Parker

This is the 122nd year that Christmas bird counts are being held across North America. Join this Christmas birding tradition.