Join us for the 82nd annual Portland Christmas Bird Count

By Wink Gross, Portland Christmas Bird Count Compiler

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Bird Count Season!”   All over North America, Audubon chapters will be conducting one-day bird counts during the Holiday Season as they have for more than 100 years.  Audubon Society of Portland held its first Christmas Bird Count in 1926.  

This year our 82nd Count will be held on Saturday, January 5, 2008.  Birders will comb the parks, open spaces, wetlands, rivers and neighborhoods all over Portland looking for birds.  At the end of the day, we’ll get together and share what we found.  Last year 108 species were tallied by a record 166 participants, making the Portland CBC one of the largest on the continent (but still not as big as Eugene with at 185 observers!)  Will you join us this year?

Think you would like to do a Christmas Bird Count but aren’t sure you’re “qualified”?  Not to worry!  We’ll match up beginners into teams with skilled birders. The more eyes, the better.  People unable to participate out-of-doors can provide valuable observations as feeder-watchers if they live within the count circle (see below).

The Christmas Bird Count is a great way for birders of all levels to enjoy a day in the field and sharpen their birding skills.  You will also have the opportunity to meet others who share your interest in birds and to discover some good local spots to find birds.  And you will contribute to scientific knowledge.  In fact, the Christmas Bird Count is one of the best ways for the amateur birder to advance ornithology:  the data are sent to the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, where over the years Christmas Bird Count records have been used to study changes in bird populations and wintering ranges.   If interested, you can access the historical record of all Christmas Bird Counts.

Each Christmas Bird Count attempts to count all the birds in a 15 mile diameter circle on one given day.  In addition to the Portland Count, roughly 45 other Counts will be conducted in Oregon this year during the 3 weeks surrounding the holidays.  Some of the counts in NW Oregon are listed below. Complete List of Oregon Counts

Want to participate in the Portland Christmas Bird Count?   Look at the map of the Portland CBC circle below and pick an area you would like to help cover.  (It does not need to be where you reside.)  Contact the area leader, who will tell you where and what time to meet on January 5.  The area leaders will put together teams to balance birding skills and cover as much of their area as possible.   Most teams go out for the whole day, 7AM until 4PM, but you can usually make arrangements if you need to stop earlier.  Can’t decide which area?  Contact me, Wink Gross, at winkg@hevanet.com or 503-226-3842.

Can’t do the Portland Count on Jan 5?  Check out the other Counts around the state.  Pick one that suits your schedule, and contact the compiler directly.

What to bring:  binoculars, of course!  Be prepared for a day outdoors in Oregon in the winter.  That means warm clothes, rainwear, and waterproof shoes.  The Counts are held as scheduled, rain or shine.  Bring a bag lunch and snacks.  Each participant over 18 years of age is asked to contribute $5 to defray the expense of publishing the results and sending you a summary.  And, last but not least, bring an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to search quietly and patiently for birds.  Last year, it was a beginning birder who spotted the Best Bird of the Portland CBC (a Long-tailed Duck).  This year, it could be you!

Wink Gross, compiler
Portland Christmas Bird Count
winkg@hevanet.com

503-226-3842

Feeder watchers needed, too!

A day tramping around in the cold and wet doesn’t appeal to you?  You may still be able to participate.  Most Christmas Counts solicit reports from “Feeder Watchers”.  If you happen to live within the Count Circle and maintain a birdfeeder, the compiler will want to know what you saw on Count Day.  Remember, only birds seen on the actual day of the Christmas Bird Count “count”.  Contact the Count compiler for details.
Feederwatch Form

Oregon CBC Schedule

Area Leaders for Portland CBC (map)

Area 1 (Columbia Riparian): 
John Fitchen
503-775-0928
jfitchen@aol.com

Area 2 (Southeast Portland):
Pat Muller
503-236-6711
neptunea2@cs.com

Area 3 (Lake Oswego):
Lynn Herring
503-635-8030
lynnhe@comcast.net

Area 4 (Beaverton):
Lori Hennings
503-797-1940 or 503-329-5003
hennings@metro.dst.or.us

Area 5 (Northwest Hills/Forest Park):
Sam Pointer
503-655-9107
OCMossBack@aol.com

A partial list of NW Oregon Counts:

Saturday, December 15
Salem
Glen Lindeman
(503) 364-6968
gdalindy@msn.com
Contact the compiler; teams arranged in advance.
 
Tillamook Bay
Owen Schmidt
(503) 282-9403
oschmidt@att.net
Meet by 7:00 a.m., Fern Restaurant, 1000 N. Hwy. 101, Tillamook (6:30 a.m. no-host buffet breakfast).
 
Sunday, December 16:
Columbia Estuary
Mike Patterson
(503) 325-1365
celata@pacifier.com
Meet 7:00 a.m. at Pig-n-Pancake Restaurant in Astoria.
 
Lyle, WA
(includes The Dalles, Rowena, and Mosier, OR)
Bob Hansen
(509) 637-2736
bobhansen@gorge.net
Contact the compiler.
 
Saturday, December 22
Forest Grove
Mary Anne Sohlstrom
(503) 463-9540
masohlstrom@msn.com
Meet 7:00 a.m. (earlier if eating breakfast), Elmer's Pancake House, 390 SW Adams, Hillsboro.
 
Thursday, December 27
Upper Nestucca
Don Albright
(503) 538-8890
donalbri@teleport.com
Contact the compiler.
 
Friday, December 28
Wahkiakum, WA
(includes Knappa and Brownsmead, OR)
Andrew Emlen
(360) 795-8009
aceasp@pacifier.com
Oregon counters meet 7:00 a.m. at The Logger Restaurant, Knappa.
Washington counters meet 7:00 a.m. at Skamokawa Center in Skamokawa.
 
Saturday, December 29
Sauvie Island
Oregon side contact:
Karen Bachman
konion6@comcast.net   or
karen@tonkon.com
(503) 289-3605 or  (503) 802-2057
Washington side contact:
Tammy Bjorkman
bjorkman@columbialandtrust.org
Contact the compilers.
 
Sunday, December 30
Hood River
Catherine Flick
(509) 493-1195
stewart@gorge.net
Meet 6:30 a.m. at the Best Western in Hood River (exit 64 off Interstate 84).
 
Tuesday, January 1
Cowlitz/Columbia
Bob Reistroffer
(360) 636-5125
breistrof@aol.com
Contact the compiler.

Saturday, January 5
Portland
Wink Gross
503-226-3842
winkg@hevanet.com
Contact one of the five area leaders or the compiler.