Group of birdwatchers looking for birds
Credit: Garth Lenz

I just wanted to remind you birders out there that Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is currently underway and ends January 5, 2010. One of the best examples of what has come to be known as "citizen science", the annual CBC is a great way for birders to help experts compile data on bird occurrences, which in turn allows them to better understand emerging patterns and can help determine specific conservation needs.

In fact, last year Audubon compiled the last 40 years of data from previous CBCs and was able to determine that rising temperatures from climate change had moved many birds' wintering grounds further north.

Here's a link to their report summary page:
http://birdsandclimate.audubon.org/
And one to a USA Today article covering the findings:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2009-02-10-birds-warming_N.htm

Audubon could not have compiled such an extensive database of bird sightings without birders like you participating in the annual CBC. While birding is generally something I consider fun, it's nice to know that you can so easily contribute to beneficial research and understanding of birds.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of counting birds in my neighborhood as part of the official Augusta (Maine) annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. My birding companion and I even found a few Boreal species that only occasionally stay around this late in inland parts of the state—three Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Here's a Yellow-rumped Warbler video I took earlier in the fall:

To find out about CBCs near you and contact your local CBC compiler to sign up and start counting. Just check out Audubon's CBC web page at:
http://www.audubon.org/Bird/cbc/