It’s time for the annual Christmas Bird Count

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

During the first week of last year’s Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, a major winter storm blanketed two-thirds of North America. Although many amateur birders canceled count plans, and many birds took cover to avoid the weather, data were collected by 76,669 observers, setting a new participation record.

The skies are expected to be kinder during the 118th annual Christmas Bird Count, which begins Thursday and runs through Jan. 5. People from the United States — including many in southwestern Pennsylvania — Canada, Latin America, and Caribbean and Pacific islands will identify and document every bird they see at predetermined count sites and upload that data to a national Audubon Society collection site. The numbers are analyzed, combined with other data and made available for the free use of scientists and the general public.

Nearly a century before the recent revival of the phrase “citizen science,” the Audubon Society was crowdsourcing mega-data about the ranges and migration schedules of North American birds.

“Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation action,” according to a page on the national Audubon site.

The bird count is a fun way for kids to get involved in wildlife conservation and for amateur birders to participate in real science.

“We absolutely learn from this,” said Brian Shema, operations director for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and organizer of its Bird Count activities.