<< Back 12/11/02 The Naturalist's Corner By Don Hendershot Area CBCs: ° Dec. 14, Brevard - Norma Siebenhaller 828.884.5443, email sieb@citcom.net. ° Dec. 14, Clemson, SC - J. Drew Lanham 864.656.7294. ° Dec. 14, Pisgah Forest - 828.877.4423. ° Dec. 16, Highlands - Brock Hutchins 828.787.1387, email brockhutchins@msn.com. ° Dec. 21, Buncombe County - Marilyn Westphal 828.251.6823, email mjwestphal@unca.com. ° Dec. 21, GSMNP - David Trently dtrently@utk.edu. ° Dec. 29, Henderson County - Wayne Forsythe 828.697.6628, email wforsythe@a-o.com. ° Dec. 29, Cades Cove - Susan Hoyle hoyle@cs.utk.edu. ° Jan. 1, Hiwassie - Kevin Calhoon kac@tennis.org. ° Jan. 4, CFB - Bob Olthoff 828.627.2546 email robcar@asap-com.com. Time to start practicing your counting, oh, and it might be a good idea to brush up on your bird identification. One of Christmas’ oldest traditions is about to get underway for the 103rd year. The National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count is the world’s longest running ornithological database. CBC’s are a great example of citizen science. The data collected provides valuable insight into distribution and population trends of the world’s birds. What started with 27 people participating in 25 counts on Christmas Day in 1900 has grown to include thousands of people around the world. More than 50,000 volunteers will take part in this year’s CBC. All 50 states, all Canadian provinces as well as Central and South America plus several Caribbean and Pacific Islands will be represented. Besides providing critical information regarding the population dynamics of birds in the Western Hemisphere, CBCs are a lot of fun. Neophytes are welcomed and urged to participate. It’s the perfect place for newcomers to learn about basic bird identification and for experienced birders to hone their skills. The more eyes and ears available, the more birds that will be recorded. And there is comfort in numbers, especially if it’s cold and nasty. The count can be conducted on any given day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. The newly formed Carolina Field Birders invites any who are interested to join with us for our first annual CBC on Jan. 4. Our count circle will include a large portion of Haywood County and a small part of Jackson County. The center of the circle (all CBCs are conducted within a 15-mile-radius circle) is Pinnacle Drive, off Old Balsam Road. The circle will include Lake Junaluska and Lake Logan for waterfowl plus a diversity of other habitats including farmland, suburbs, downtown and forested tracts like Balsam Mountain Preserve. The compiler and organizer for the count is Bob Olthoff. To date, 16 volunteers have signed up and Bob has designated six groups to cover the count circle. More volunteers mean more groups and better coverage. The CFB count will be an all-day affair. Volunteers are encouraged to pack a lunch and stick it out as long as possible. When we finally call off the bird dogs Saturday afternoon all the groups will meet (tentatively scheduled for Bogart’s) for refreshments and to tally up total species and numbers for the day. I sympathize with whomever will be responsible for counting starlings and rock doves (pigeons) in the vicinity of of the cattle feed lot by the Waynesville Drive-in. When I stopped and glassed the fields there last Sunday both species numbered in the hundreds. Starlings will probably top the list as far as total numbers go, but I don’t think we will have to worry about setting any records. Just over a million starlings were recorded at a Pine Prairie, La., count in the early 90s. If your calendar is already booked for Jan. 4 check out some of the other CBCs in the area. Or better yet, do a couple. All counts eagerly welcome volunteers. To sign up for the CFB count contact Bob at 828.627.2546 after 5 p.m. (Don Hendershot can be reached at don@smokymountainnews.com)