Lunch Break –
Phil Swing Park (Imperial Dam) at noon for those who’d like to share sightings
Compilation Dinner –
Mr. Lu’s at 7:00 p.m., 1960 E. Palo Verde (in front of old Sam’s Club on Pacific Ave.)

Our Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be held on Saturday, Dec 16, 2006.  Everyone is welcome to participate; to count and tally all the birds and bird species that they see for the day.  If you would like to be listed as an "official" counter, the cost is again $5.00.  We cover a 15-mile diameter circle centered at Imperial Dam, which includes parts of Imperial NWR, parts of YPG, Betty's Kitchen, Mittry Lake, Bard, a good slice of the Colorado River, and lots of desert montains. If there are specific areas you'd like to cover, please call, e-mail me, or talk with me at the December Audubon meeting. 

We will go over car-pooling, exact coverage areas, hand out maps, etc. at the December Audubon meeting.  If you can't make that, I'll meet with you at another time.  I'll also send you more detailed information via e-mail.

If you are participating, please fill out these two sheets and return them to me at the end of the day.  Thanks!

1. Participant Info
2. Bird Tally Sheet
 

Thanks to Jeff Coker for gathering the following data off of the National Audubon web site. The first CBC for the Martinez Lake/Yuma circle was in 1940.  The highest number of participants was in 1982.  There were 44 people for a total of 187 hours.

In 1940:
* Participants: 4
* Total birds: 5,751
* Total Species: 53
* High Species: Red-winged Blackbirds 2,000
* American Coots: 1,000

In 1990:
* Participants / hours:  33 / 136
* Total birds: 23,701
* Total Species: 139
* High Species: Red-winged Blackbirds, 5,669
* American Coots: 3,622

In 2000:
* Participants / hours: 18 / 67
* Total birds: 21,542
* Total Species: 113
* High Species: American Coots, 12,026
* American Coots: 12,026

In 2005, we tallied 121 species during the count day and count week.  The old record high is 139 species--maybe we can beat it this year! 

We would like to combine the count with a fund-raising event for the Yuma Birding and Nature Festival, so this year's count will also be a Birdathon (strictly voluntary, of course!)

If you'd like to help out with the fund-raising, here are some suggested "Birdathon" guidelines:
- Solicit pledges from friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. These individuals pledge to give you a set dollar amount for every bird species you observe or hear during the CBC--maybe $.10, $.25 or even $1.00 a bird!
- Warn them ahead of time what to expect
- Give them a copy of your bird list after the count, collect the contribution,
and bring it to the January Audubon meeting.

Western Screech-Owl

We've broken down the coverage circle into 12 locations that are fairly easily covered by one or more participants.  Some areas already have volunteers, some areas don't.   Please let me know if you'd like to assist in any of these areas.  E-mail me at henrydetwiler@earthlink.net or call my work number at 343-8363.

 

Entire CBC Count Circle, centered at:  32.8833º N, 114.4833º W
Click on map to bring up a slightly larger version
 

These are the areas in the southern half of the count circle.
Click on map to bring up a slightly larger version