It’s Time to Count the Birds Again in Steele County
This Saturday is the 51st annual Steele County Audubon's Christmas Bird Count. Anyone with backyard bird feeders are encouraged to participate in this Citizen Scientist bird project.
The National Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the nation's longest-running community Citizen Scientist project, now in its 123rd year.
Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas Side Hunt. They would choose sides and head out with their guns. Whichever team brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) game won.
Conservation awareness was just in its beginning stages then, as many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the newly formed Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a Christmas Bird Census that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them. So began the Christmas Bird Count.
Over the years, the Christmas Bird Count has evolved into a valuable tool for monitoring winter bird populations in North America. The data gathered is used to track long-term trends in bird populations. Analysis of more than a century's worth of data can reveal the decline of some species, and the recovery of others, providing a deeper understanding of conservation measures that can help birds.
To participate in the 2022 Steele County Bird Count, or learn more about this Citizen Scientist project, contact Leanne Alt at 507-390-5751.
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