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Saipan birders urged to take part in Christmas Bird Count
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Posted on Dec 03 2011
Saipan birders and nature enthusiasts are being invited to take part on the 112th edition of the Audubon Society’s Annual Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 16, 2011.
Just meet with CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife staff at 6am at 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 binoculars, and DFW may have a few field guides on hand for use).
As you’ll take part in both roadside and walking surveys, come appropriately attired. A participation fee of $5 will be required, which covers the cost of data compilation and of the annual Christmas Bird Count publication that all participants will receive.
Paul Radley of CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife will be leading and organizing the count.
Saipan has been a part of this long running winter tradition for more than 12 years. Each year from mid-December through the first week in January, birders and volunteers across the Western hemisphere participate in various daylong counts throughout the Americas, the West Indies, and the Pacific Islands.
In 2009, 59,813 participants took part in 2,215 individual counts-an all-time high-and reported a total of 61,359,451 birds of 2,250 species. The volunteer-generated data gathered have become an important part of the U.S. Government’s Natural History Monitoring Database.
For those interested in taking part in the counts on Tinian (Dec. 14) or Rota (yet to be determined), call or e-mail Padley at 664-6011 or paulradleycnmidfw@gmail.com. (DFW)
