A Christmas bird count will be held at Sherburne Naitonal Wildlife Refuge on Sat. Dec. 19 starting at 8 am at the Refuge headquarters. Sherburne NWR volunteers survey winter bird species within a circle with its center on th refuge (corner of CR 9 and CR 5) and its radius extending 7.5 miles in all directions. Although CBC coordinator, Dean Kleinhans, reports that no more colunteers are needed for the count, the Refuge could still use your help in another way! If you live in or near the count area, it would be greatly appreciated if you cleaned and filled your bird fedders on the day of the count. Also please be aware that on Dec. 19 vehicles may be driving past your home with occupants fixing their vinoculars on your property. Please dont be concerned! The observers are only interested in the species and numbers of birds on your property.

 

The Christmas bird count is a nation-wide activity organized by Audubon. Reports from all participating groups are tallied by National Audubon and other birding organizations such as the Minnesota Ornithological Union. The final tally provides information on the number of bird species inhabiting each corner of the country during that window of time. The research is also used to track long-term trends in bird populations and distribution.

 

Local data for SNWR is used to track changes in bird populations over time, or can be pooled with other areas to detect population patterns over a large area. Minnesota Ornithological Union has records for the Sherburne count to 1966. The highest count per bird species usually trades off between Black-capped Chickadees and Blue Jays. Last year there were 343 Black-capped Chickadees and 265 Blue Jays. That is down from 433 and 415 respectively in 2013 count. In the last several years, the Sherburne CBC has found some unusual birds including the Townsends Solitaire and Golden Eagle. Sometimes it is what is not observed that is more unusual. Last year we did not see any Canada geese. In 2011 there were 236 geese recorded. This type of long-term data provides great guidance for Sherburne’s management practices locally and conservation nationally. 

 

The Christmas bird count at the Refuge is sponsored by Friends of Sherburne.