JOIN AUDOBON’S CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT: SIX DATES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: Lazuli Bunting, by Eric Kallen; orioles by Greg Dunne

December 12, 2019 (San Diego) -- Audubon's 120th Christmas Bird Count starts on Saturday, December 14, 2019, and ends on Sunday, January 5, 2020. Each year, thousands of volunteers go outside together to count every bird they see or hear all day. It’s a fun and festive way to bird watch and contribute to an important winter bird census. Join the Christmas Bird Count.

In California, there are over 100 Christmas Bird Count events.  San Diego Audubon Society is hosting Christmas Bird Counts on multiple dates, including Dec. 14, 15, 16, 21, 28 and Jan. 4 at locations across our region including our mountain, desert and urban areas.  Sign Up.

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a program of the National Audubon Society and is over 100 years old. This community science project is a bird census wherein thousands of volunteers from across the US, Canada, and many other countries in the Western Hemisphere coordinate to systematically count the number of bird species—as well as the individual numbers of each species— seen within a specifically defined geographical area. 

Each count area is called a "circle" and is headed by a count compiler or coordinator. Each circle is further divided into many smaller survey locations. The CBC provides an invaluable profile of bird population numbers, avian movements, and associated trends, such as climate pressures and the impact of land use policies on birds and other wildlife. Volunteers are encouraged to contribute to this critically important field work by joining a circle. 

Dates and points of contact for each of the San Diego County circles are listed below.  Please contact the leader if you are interested in participating.

San Diego Circle               Saturday December 14th   

Justyn Stahl                      justyn.stahl@gmail.com

Anza-Borrego Circle          Sunday December 15th    

Jim Dice                              dicej@uci.edu

Lake Henshaw Circle        Monday December 16th 

Gretchen Cummings        gretchen.bc@sbcglobal.net

Oceanside Circle              Saturday December 21st     

 Tim Burr                               tburr@san.rr.com

Escondido Circle               Saturday December 28th       

Ken Weaver                        gnatcatcher@sbcglobal.net

Rancho Santa Fe Circle    Saturday January 4th             

Robert Patton                      rpatton@san.rr.com