Mariposa Christmas Bird Count:
This year's Mariposa CBC will be on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
Please confirm or cancel your participation in this year's count by sending an email to Cheryl Johnson at cdjohnso@biotacalifornia.com.
There will be a pre-CBC Zoom meeting on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 10:00 am Pacific.
Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkdu-gqj4rGNXF8Ng8bmH0zKW7lndLjRaB. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Yosemite National Park Christmas Bird Count:
Please email Sarah Stock at sarah.stock@nps.gov to get information about times and locations for this count.
he Yosemite Christmas Bird Count is close at hand, and you are invited to participate! This is one of Yosemite National Park's longest held traditions with almost 100 years of participation (since 1932). This year's count will be held on Sunday, December 18. If you wish to attend, please contact me/Sarah Stock by email at sarah_stock@nps.govso I can plan your zone assignment. It is important to contact me at least a few days before December 18, the sooner the better. Also, please see if you can drum up additional participants from among your friends and family, more eyes means more birds! We typically have around 40 participants who count and identify over 2,000 birds of approximately 65 species. Some of the highlights have included: a Spotted Owl in Yosemite Valley, Turkey Vulture in the Chinquapin zone, Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid in El Portal, and last year we saw a Great Gray Owl in Foresta and a Hooded Merganser in Yosemite Valley.
The bird count is a free, all-day event. Participants will be pre-assigned to a group led by an expert birder, so the only required prerequisite is enthusiasm for birds and nature. We will start shortly after dawn and continue until around 5 p.m. Participants should dress warmly and wear sturdy shoes, and be prepared for rain/snow/shine conditions that can vary greatly (layering is the key). Bring binoculars, field guides, lunch, and water. We'd like to have as many people as possible in the field for as long as possible, but arrangements can be made for participants who can only be out for part of the day. If you are one of these people, it is preferable that you begin at the normal start time for your area (8:00 a.m.) and end early. A rendezvous with a group later in the day is sometimes difficult to arrange.
Oakhurst Christmas Bird Count:
Please email Vern Johnson at roygbiv@nctv.com to get information about times and locations for this count.
Audubon’s 123rd annual CBC is upon us. Last year, the 122nd Audubon CBC included 2,621 count circles worldwide. In total, 76,880 observers out in the field and watching feeders tallied up more than 42 million birds representing about 2,500 different species. When combined with other surveys like the Breeding Bird Survey, the Audubon CBC provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years. The long-term perspective is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well. Of course, another important goal of the CBC is to get out in the field, maybe see something interesting, and have a good time.
The Oakhurst CBC will be on Sunday, Dec. 18. There is no fee to participate and no experience necessary, we welcome people new to birding as well as birders of all skill levels. Generally it is conducted from dawn to dusk, but some people choose to do just a partial day. If you live within the count circle (see attached count circle map) you can even just do a “feederwatch” count from your home. We conduct the count “rain or shine.” Most counts combine birding on foot as well as by car.
Count circles have a 7.5 mile radius. The Oakhurst count circle center point is Oakhurst Elementary School on School Rd. The count circle is divided into 6 zones. If you want to participate, choose a zone that interests you and contact that zone leader directly, or if you have no preference, contact me at roygbiv@nctv.com and you can be assigned to a group. General recommendations are that you dress for cold weather, wear layered clothing, bring a lunch or snacks, and water. Binoculars are recommended but not mandatory. They don’t need to be expensive ones.
Contact me for any questions.
Yosemite Area Audubon Society members and friends are enthusiastic participants in the Christmas Bird Counts each year. The counts are part of the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, an annual avian census held between December 14 and January 5.
Begun on Christmas Day in 1900, this event is now the longest-running wildlife survey and the oldest citizen-science project in the world. Ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed this annual bird count as an alternative to the traditional “side-hunt,” a competition for hunters to shoot as many birds as they could kill on Christmas Day.
Chapman’s brainchild has grown from its original 25 locations, mostly in northeastern North America but including Pacific Grove in California, to more than 2,100 counts ranging from the Arctic to South America. Twenty-seven hearty souls participated in the first count; today volunteers number in the tens of thousands, all of them helping amass data that collectively inform scientists of bird population trends and patterns and, in turn, decisions by the agencies responsible for bird conservation.
Like all Christmas Bird Counts, each of the three local tallies (Mariposa, Yosemite, and Oakhurst) takes place within a fixed 15-mile-diameter circle established by the count originators. The compiler selects a date within the prescribed window of time for the count. On that one day participants, assigned to specific zones, fan out inside the circle to cover the area as widely as possible and to count all the birds observed and identified. At the end of the day the results are compiled for submittal to National Audubon.
National Audubon president and CEO David Yarnold has commented, “The Audubon Christmas Bird Count harnesses volunteer power to gather knowledge that shapes conservation policy at enormous scales in this country. I couldn’t be prouder of the 60,000-plus volunteers who contribute each year….”
Christmas bird counts are among a number of citizen-science projects that engage members of the Yosemite Area Audubon Society, the local chapter affiliate of the National Audubon Society and its state affiliate, Audubon California, in bird conservation and in habitat protection, restoration, and education. YAAS invites area residents to discover the fascination and fun of birding by attending its monthly programs, participating in monthly field trips and getting involved in some of its exciting projects.
Participation in all counts is free, and all are welcome regardless of birding experience.
Mariposa Count Circle
The count circle, ranging in elevation from less than 1,000′ to about 3,500′, mirrors the predominantly rural character of Mariposa County. About 30% of the area comprises large ranches of several hundred to upward of 1,000 acres, and national forests constitute about 20% of the area. An estimated 95% of the private properties within the circle are a minimum of 5 acres in size. Habitats include montane mixed-conifer/oak woodland dominated by ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak (25%); blue oak/valley oak/live oak/foothill pine woodland sprinkled with grassy rangelands (40%); blue oak savanna (5%); chaparral with a mix of chamise, manzanita, scrub oak, and Ceanothus spp. (25%); and riparian (streams and ranch ponds bordered by willows, alders, cottonwoods, cattails, reeds, and many perennials) (5%). Shrubs and wildflowers of many species splatter all of these habitats. The mosaic of habitats and the biodiversity, particularly within the blue oak woodland, is acknowledged as one of the most biologically diverse and productive in California. The diversity and abundance of birds consistently produce significant numbers of species and individuals within the circle area.
For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, including data and results, visit the National Audubon Society's CBC page.