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Fw: Christmas Bird Count in NY Times Editorial



Thought some of you Carolinabirders would be interested in this article.
Ann Shahid
Charleston, SC

----- Original Message -----
From: <ashahid@toolkitmail.com>
To: <shahidrad@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 11:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Christmas Bird Count in NY Times Editorial


> Forwarded Message:
> > To: Unknown
> > From: BIANCHI John <JBIANCHI@Audubon.org>
> > Subject: Christmas Bird Count in NY Times Editorial
> > Date: Thu, 02 Jan 2003 15:02:31 -0500
> > -----
> >
> >
> > Taking Harmless Aim Above
> >
> > January 1, 2003
> >
> > Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Imagine the popular mockery in 1900 when the first bird
> > census takers emerged on Christmas Day to present a
> > pacifist alternative to the grand old "Side Hunt" - the
> > traditional killing binge in which Americans went
> > festivally into the woods to compete in shooting as many
> > birds and small animals as they could within the holiday.
> > The Side Hunt faded, but the vision of the 27 pioneer bird
> > counters led forth by Frank Chapman, an impresario of an
> > ornithologist, has persevered unto a third generation. The
> > current annual Christmas bird census involves a
> > record-breaking 55,000 - count 'em - human participants.
> > They are out across the nation and hemisphere bagging more
> > than 50 million birds by eyeball.
> >
> > Anyone who has quietly watched these volunteer watchers
> > must admire them as models of human unobtrusiveness. The
> > personal joy they experience from patiently spotting and
> > jotting down each flitting fellow creature, exotic or not,
> > is balanced by a strong pragmatic factor in the management
> > of the census by the National Audubon Society. This year,
> > the three-week count, which ends Sunday, has an extra sharp
> > eye out for regional declines in crows, jays, owls and
> > other raptors - birds considered especially susceptible to
> > the West Nile virus that can afflict humans. The falloff in
> > songbird populations and woodpeckers also remains an annual
> > concern. The steady drop in wild turkeys in the counts of
> > the 1930's sparked moves to protect that bird.
> >
> > But this "citizen science" aspect is secondary to the
> > individual birder's addiction to a cold day of discovery in
> > the woods, serendipitous as star gazing. Then there is the
> > après-view aspect of swapping tales in a cozy gathering of
> > census takers, a modern successor to Side Hunt festivity
> > minus the dead birds underfoot.
> >
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/01/opinion/01WED3.html?ex=1042456182&ei>
=1&en=
> > 9a9800a1381f39cc
> >
> >
> >
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> > Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
> >
> >
>
>
>