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Christmas Bird Count



>I think this could be usefull to Carolina Birders.
										VAN ATKINS





 >Subject:      Christmas Bird Count
>To: CHAPTER-COMMUNICATOR@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
>X-AWOD-ADDRESSED-TO: <vatkins@AWOD.COM> and 0 others
>
>Dear Chapter Newsletter Editors,
>Below is the "fill in the blanks" press release that we have drafted for the
>Christmas Bird Count.  We thought this might be helpful and save you some
>time.  Please feel free to modify the release as you wish for your
>newsletters.
>
>AUDUBON INVITES BIRDERS, NATURE ENTHUSIASTS IN                 TO TAKE PART
>IN 101ST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
>
>NEW YORK, November 2000 - National Audubon Society urges volunteers in
>________________to participate in one of Audubon's great traditions, the
>annual Christmas Bird Count on _________.
>
>This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Christmas Bird Count- and the
>beginning of the second century- since 27 conservationists in 25 localities,
>led by ornithologist Frank Chapman, changed the course of history.  On
>Christmas Day 1900, the group initiated an alternative to the traditional
>holiday 'side hunt,' in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most
>birds.  Instead of hunting, the group counted the birds they saw and founded
>a century-old institution.
>
>Today, over 50,000 volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province,
>parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific
>islands will count and record every individual bird and bird species
>encountered during one calendar day.  About 1800 individual Christmas Bird
>Counts will be held during a two-and-a-half week period.  Each count group
>has a designated circle 15 miles in diameter - about 177 square miles -
>where they try to cover as much ground as possible within a 24-hour calendar
>day.
>
>This year marks the first season that Bird Studies Canada is the Canadian
>partner in the Christmas Bird Count.  The designated Christmas Bird Count
>compilers for each count will enter their data on-line via through Bird
>Studies Canada's homepage <www.bsc-eoc.org> or through BirdSource
><www.birdsource.org>, where the 101st Count results will be viewable in near
>real-time.  For those without access to the web, paper forms may be returned
>to National Audubon and Bird Studies Canada for on-line data entry by
>ornithology staff.
>
>Christmas Bird Count serves as an up-to-the-minute bird census.  Counters
>catalogue every bird and bird species they see over one calendar day, from
>midnight to midnight.  Growing in popularity since its inception, the count
>serves an important scientific function as well.  Birds are one of the first
>groups of animals to be affected by environmental threats like pollution and
>habitat destruction, and CBC data provide indispensable information, not
>only on long-term health of bird populations, but also the status of the
>environment that birds share with all living things.
>
>Apart from its attraction as a social, sporting, and competitive event, the
>annual count reveals interesting and scientifically useful information on
>the early-winter distribution patterns of various bird species and the
>over-all health of the environment.
>
>The Christmas Bird Count is the longest running ornithological database.  As
>we begin the second century of the Count, it continues to grow in importance
>as a means to monitor the status of resident and migratory bird populations
>across the western hemisphere.   The CBC is 100% volunteer generated data
>that, over the years, has become a crucial part of the United States
>Government's natural history monitoring database.  Count data from 1900 to
>the present are currently available through BirdSource <www.birdsource.org>,
>a cooperative project of the National Audubon Society and the Cornell
>Laboratory of Ornithology.
>
>All counts are open to birders of all skill levels.  For more information
>about your local count, contact _______________________, at
>____________________.
>                                (name)                          (telephone
>#)
>
>Media Contact:
>John Bianchi                    jbianchi@audubon.org            212/979-3026
>Kara Grobert                    kgrobert@audubon.org            212/979-3027
>
>
>