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Saipan birders invited to take part in 114th Annual Christmas Bird Count
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Posted on Dec 08 2013
For more than 14 years, Saipan has been a part of the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, a long running winter tradition.
Each year from approximately mid-December through the first week in January, birders and volunteers across the western hemisphere participate in this daylong event.
Because of the widely publicized announcement of the elimination of the CBC participant fee for field observers in 2012, an unprecedented number of people volunteered to count. As a result last season surpassed all previous records. A total of 2,369 individual counts and 71,531 people tallied over 64 million birds! Counts took place in all 50 states and all Canadian provinces, and 103 CBC count circles were tallied in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.
The volunteer-generated data that are a result of this event have become an important part of the U.S. Government’s Natural History Monitoring Database. Thus, the CBC is a great opportunity for bird enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to make a significant and useful contribution to science.
Come take part in this fun and free daylong event! Simply meet us by 6am on Dec. 24 in the American Memorial Park parking lot with water, snacks or food, paper, pencils or pens, and binoculars and field guide if you have them (it’s OK if you don’t own either, come anyway). As you’ll take part in both roadside and walking surveys, please come appropriately attired.
Paul Radley, CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife, will be leading and organizing the count. If you have any questions or are interested in taking part in the counts on Tinian (Dec. 16) or Rota (yet to be determined), call or e-mail Paul at 664-6011 or paulradleycnmidfw@gmail.com. (PR)
