Home : News

Crawford County News

National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count
01-17-2012
On December 18th the Crawford Park District hosted the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. In its 112th year, the Christmas bird count is a classic example of “Citizen Science”. The stated goal of this annual event is to record all the birds inside a 15-mile diameter circle within a 24-hour period. Researchers use the data collected during counts held throughout North America to monitor bird populations and movements.

For the Bucyrus circle count, seven people gathered in the early morning hours and took to the woods and fields to collect data; another four people recorded activity at their bird feeders. A total of 7873 birds representing 64 different species were recorded. Four species – starling, ring-billed gull, house sparrow and Canada goose – represented 76 percent of all birds counted.

Highlights included the first eastern phoebe and horned grebe ever recorded in the history of the Bucyrus count. Phoebes are a type of flycatcher that normally heads south for the winter but warm temperatures in the weeks prior to the count meant that several species have lingered longer than usual this year. The horned grebe was one of seven species of waterfowl to be documented. Large numbers of waterfowl were seen during other counts in Ohio this year and are indicative of the warmer than usual weather in November and early December.

The Christmas bird count is an event that is open to everyone. Anyone wishing to participate should contact the Crawford Park District at 419-683-900 to be added to the list for the 2012 count which will be held in December.

Printer Friendly Version