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101st Annual Christmas Bird Count Announcement



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Hi all! this might be of interest to a lot of you at this time of year.And
help you decide to join in a count in your area.
									Van Atkins






>To: CHAPTER-COMMUNICATOR@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
>X-AWOD-ADDRESSED-TO: <vatkins@awod.com> and 0 others
>
>AUDUBON INVITES BIRDERS, NATURE ENTHUSIASTS HEMISPHERE-WIDE TO TAKE PART IN
>101ST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
>
>New York, NY November 17, 2000 - National Audubon Society urges volunteers
>across western hemisphere to participate in one of Audubon's great
>traditions, the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), being held from December
>14, 2000 to January 5, 2001. This year marks the first season that Bird
>Studies Canada is the Canadian partner in the CBC.
>
>This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Christmas Bird Count 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, thus founding one of the most significant
>citizen-based conservation efforts and a century-old institution.
>
>Today, almost 55,000 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 seen
>during one 24-hour calendar day.  About 1,800 individual counts will be held
>during a two-and-a-half week period.  Each 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 day.
>
>The designated CBC compiler for each count will enter their data on-line via
>BirdSource <www.birdsource.org or Bird Studies Canada's homepage
><www.bsc-eoc.org>, where the 101st Count results will be viewable in near
>real-time. Bird Studies Canada is recognized as a leading and respected
>not-for-profit conservation organization dedicated to advancing the
>understanding, appreciation and conservation of wild birds and their
>habitats. Designated compilers without Internet access may mail forms to
>Audubon and Bird Studies Canada.
>
>Apart from its attraction as a social, sporting, and competitive event, CBC
>reveals scientific information on the winter distributions of various bird
>species as well as the over-all health of the environment.  CBC is the
>longest running ornithological database and continues to grow in importance
>as a monitor of the status of resident and migratory birds across the
>western hemisphere.  The data, 100% volunteer generated, has become a
>crucial part of the U. S. Government's natural history monitoring database.
>
> Count data from 1900 to the present is available at BirdSource
><www.birdsource.org>, a collaborative website of the National Audubon
>Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All counts are open to
>birders of all skill levels.
>
>MEDIA CONTACT:
>John Bianchi                            jbianchi@audubon.org
>212/979-3026
>Kara Grobert                            kgrobert@audubon.org
>212/979-3027
>
>
>