Volunteers sought for annual bird count

Jan Rose is looking for a few volunteers to help with the 110th Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, Jan. 2.

“It’s a good way to get started into identifying birds,” said Rose, who has organized the local effort for 25 years.

At minimum of eight to 10 volunteers are needed; 20 would be best.

Those interested should meet at 6 a.m. for breakfast at The Badger’s Den at 6651 Main St., Bonners Ferry. Participants then will be divided into four groups, who will canvas a 7-mile radius around Bonners Ferry.

“it’s been a little lean (in recent years with volunteers),” Rose said. “If we get only four or five people, we can’t cover the area. No bird gets counted unless two people have seen it and identified it.”

Saturday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the 30s with a 60 percent chance of precipitation, so participants should dress appropriately. Rose suggests they bring a thermos with something hot, a lunch, binoculars, bird field guide and county map.

Some of the more common birds participants can expect to see are the Canada goose, redwing blackbirds, Bohemian waxwings, robins, common loons and black-capped chickadees, she said.

“We usually get about 50 species,” Rose said. “We count the number of species and the number of birds in each species.”

Volunteers will meet at the Environmental Education Center at Kootenai Wildlife Refuge at 2 p.m. to turn in bird tallies, sightings and have snacks.

The information collected will go into a national data base overseen by the National Audubon Society, which began the Christmas Bird Census in 1900. The count is the longest running citizen science survey in the world.

 Today, more than 55,000 volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies and Pacific Islands count and record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area.

 The bird count is a tool for conservation. It has helped document success stories like the comeback of the previously endangered bald eagle, and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of conservation efforts.

For information, call Rose at 267-7791.