Help count local birds during Audubon’s 120th annual Christmas bird count

Orange County. Join tens of thousands of participants contributing invaluable bird population data in the nation’s longest-running citizen-science bird census on Dec. 28.

| 03 Dec 2019 | 09:45

This year, the Southern Orange County Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place Saturday, Dec. 28 (rain date Dec. 29).

The Orange County Audubon Society (OCAS) invites Orange County friends and neighbors to join the 19th Southern Orange County CBC.

Beginning birders will be grouped with more experienced birders and each group will follow specified routes, counting every bird that they see or hear.

If your home is within the boundaries of the Southern Orange County circle, you can also participate by counting birds from your home bird feeder.

This National Audubon Society (NAS) annual tradition, now it it’s 120th year, is the longest running citizen science bird survey in the nation and fuels Audubon scientist’s work throughout the year.

The data collected by observers over the past century has allowed Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, and wildlife agencies to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.

In October 2019, the NAS released new evidence that bird populations have suffered a 30 percent loss in North America since 1970 (www.audubon.org/climate/survivalbydegrees) and that two-thirds (64 percent) of North American bird species are at risk of extinction from climate change.

Last year in Orange County, 28 people participated in the Southern Orange County CBC, counting 7,054 individual birds of 66 species. Worldwide in 2017, 76,987 people participated, counting nearly 60 million birds of 2,673 species.

To participate in the Southern Orange County CBC, fill out the survey form linked at www.OrangeCountyAudubonSociety.org.

Contact info@orangecountyNYaudubon.org with your questions about the 2019 Southern Orange County CBC.

To join another CBC count near you, go to https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count.

OCAS is a volunteer bird and wildlife conservation organization working to foster appreciation and conservation of all aspects of the environment. In Orange County, the group is the steward of five bird and wildlife sanctuaries. OCAS is a member chapter of the National Audubon Society.