We’re midway through the 123rd Audubon Christmas Bird Count season — one of the nation’s longest-running citizens science projects. Some 25 counts were scheduled across Georgia this season, which began on Dec. 14 and will run through Jan. 5.
Over the decades, the annual avian censuses have provided valuable data on bird populations for hundreds of scientific studies. For us bird lovers, the counts also have become a great holiday tradition.
Results from 15 counts so far in Georgia this season are mostly average. Even so, Jamie Calloway in Upson County was ecstatic over the 78 species that he and a dozen fellow birders tallied during the first-ever Thomaston area Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Dec. 16.
“What a day we had,” he said. One way of looking at it, he noted, is that the 78 species is the count’s first record. Some of the day’s highlights included a bald eagle, a loggerhead shrike and a Northern harrier.
Calloway said he got the idea for a CBC in his area while helping out last year in the Macon count. He realized that there were no CBCs between Macon and Columbus, even though the area harbors numerous important bird habitats and preserves, including Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area and Sprewell Bluff Park on the Flint River.
After some intensive research, Calloway applied to the National Audubon Society to officially sanction the Thomaston area CBC. One of NAS’ strict requirements was that Calloway submit a map of a 15-mile diameter circle in which the count would be conducted.
It took a few months to process and approve the proposal, but, in the end, Audubon gave its official blessing to the first-ever Thomaston area CBC.
Now, Calloway hopes it will become a holiday tradition in his area for years to come.
Ten other counts are still scheduled for this season in Georgia, including the Intown Atlanta count on Jan. 2 in which I’ll participate. Merry Christmas and Happy Birding.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon is new this weekend. Venus and Mercury are very low in the west just before sunset and will appear near the thin crescent moon Saturday night. Mars, now at its brightest, is high in the east at dusk. Saturn is very low and Jupiter is high in the southwest at dark. Saturn will appear near the moon on Monday night.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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