Watch the Birdie

Counters are starting their second century of compiling numbers of wintering birds.

STORY BY GARY THOMAS
PHOTOS BY CHAS. J. DEES

Each year, a dedicated group of bird hunters takes to the field in Illinois. Their season is limited. It begins Dec. 14 and continues through Jan. 5, but hunters are allowed to hunt only one day of their season and in a limited area.

Don't look for these hunters to be carrying guns though. They are more apt to be toting binoculars and field guides. These hunters are birding enthusiasts participating in the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count.

Counters in each area pick a single day that falls within the "season" guidelines, and they have 24 hours—from midnight to midnight—to see how many species and how many birds of each species they can count in a 15-mile diameter monitoring area.

"Most of the counters tend to be seasoned veterans avid birders, though there are always a few beginning birders who show up," said Vern Kleen, avian ecologist for DNR's Natural Heritage Division. "Counting groups can range from 6 to 8 counters in one area to 40 or 50 in another. The largest group last year had more than 100 counters. And groups can differ in their counting effort too. Some will be out there in the darkness roaming through the woods listening for birds, while others do their counting at bird feeders from the warmth of their homes."

DNR avian ecologist Vern Kleen collects data during last year's Christmas Bird Count.

The Christmas Bird Count was started by a group of birding enthusiasts in New York in 1900. It continued as a local count for a few years, then was taken over by the newly formed National Audubon Society. It grew into a national affair, with counts taking place in every state, and more recently has become an international event. Counts now occur in different parts of Canada, South America and some of the Caribbean islands.

Kleen said counters will observe 150 to 160 different species during a typical year, and while the count isn't scientific, it does provide biologists with useful information.

"We see the Christmas Bird Count as a way to predict trends in bird populations," said David Johnson, Buffalo Grove, who coordinates the Illinois count for the National Audubon Society. "We know this isn't science, but it does provide biologists and ornithologists with an extremely large data base. We have 100 years of the history of birding,

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Christmas bird census takers usually work in groups of three to four.

and this tells you a lot about early winter bird distribution."

Johnson sends out instructions to the coordinator of each count in Illinois. They send him the returns, which he processes for the national count. A member of the Evanston Northshore Bird Club, Johnson said they are seeing changes in the waterfowl population, particularly of Ross's, blue and snow geese—birds more common in the western half of the United States.

"This count gives you an indication of whether specific populations are going up or down, plus we can see changes that take place," Johnson said. "Last year, for instance, we had almost 3,000 sandhill cranes in the state during the count, a species that had never shown up in our count previously."

Information like that can be useful in predicting, trends.

"Based on species and numbers, this can be a good indicator of which populations are hanging in there and which ones are in trouble," Kleen said. "For instance, we have the redheaded woodpecker on a watch list. We can get a good idea of how well these birds fared the past summer by comparing the number of birds recorded during the Christmas Bird Count to previous years."

Johnson said more than 1,100 counters participated in last year's Illinois bird counts. Counters usually split up into smaller segments of 2 to 4 counters and fan out through their counting area.

"We have 60 counts that take place throughout Illinois each year," Kleen said. "Each group selects the day when they will hold their own count, and then they just go out and do it. If the weather is bad on the day they have selected, they can cancel their count and do it a different day, but some just go ahead and have their count no matter how bad the weather."

Kleen pointed out that counters don't actually have to see the birds to count them. The counts always begin in darkness and end in darkness, so groups will be out counting owls by their calls.

These are dedicated birders.

"Counters look for different species of birds and for numbers of each species," said Kleen. "They try to count each individual bird they see during the day. But sometimes they have to estimate numbers, especially if they see large flocks of geese or starlings."

The total number of birds can vary dramatically from year to year. If counts are done when it has been extremely cold-especially if the water is frozen-there will be far fewer birds counted. If there are major blackbird roosts in the state, it can up the total count by a million birds.

Information gathered by counters has to be factored as to the number of counters paticipating and whether they work independently or as a group.

This red-tailed hawk just got counted. Census takers look for different species of birds, as well as the number of each species.

"Some groups are pretty casual about the count, while others are intense, making it a game to see who can get the most species and the highest number of birds" Kleen said. "For the information to be of use to us, we have to factor in the amount of effort, so the information is listed by 'party hours' and miles traveled."

Party hours are determined this way: If a group of three people work together and count for two hours, it is considered two party hours. If the three people work independently and count birds for two hours it is considered six party hours. Mileage is pretty self-explanatory.

And while the count is sponsored and coordinated by the National Audubon Society, any birding group or enthusiast can participate. More information is available from Kleen. He can put you in touch with the person coordinating the count nearest you and can be reached by writing: Department of Natural Resources, Attn: Vern Kleen, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill. 62701-1787; calling (217) 785-8774; or emailing: vkleen@dnrmail.state.il.us.

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