Christmas Bird Count still on despite COVID-19
The National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count will be held this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but wants more participants counting from the safety of their backyards.
Hot Springs’ count is scheduled for Dec. 20, and Hot Springs Village will hold its count on Dec. 14.
Hot Springs National Park is partnering with the Garland County Audubon Society, Lake Catherine State Park and the city of Hot Springs to host the Dec. 20 bird count. Birds will be counted within a 15-mile circle around Garland County during the 24-hour period.
Jerry Butler, president of the Garland County Audubon Society, will host a virtual presentation for the Garland County Library at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. Butler, presenting on Facebook Live, said he will spend an hour talking about the bird count and how it works.
This year’s count will be different due to the pandemic, Butler said, because the society is seeking more participants to look for birds in their yards.
“Usually people go out, walk around in parks. (There’s a) greater need for people to count birds where they are and stay safe,” Butler said.
Within the 15-mile diameter that the count encompasses, Butler said “people divide parts of that circle up.” While there will still be participants going out to look for birds, Butler said that they want more to watch their bird feeders this year.
There are typically meals or gatherings at the end of the count, but Butler said, “We won’t be doing that sort of thing” this year.
Nathan Charlton, natural resources program manager and physical scientist for HSNP, is leading the bird count for the second year in a row. He said that last year’s count was a success despite bad weather.
“Last year was good. We had just under 40 participants,” Charlton said, noting that “9,091 total birds counted, 113 total species including 10 unique species.” He said that a unique species is a rare or unusual species of bird.
The 2019 count numbers were up from 2018. Charlton said that in 2018, they counted around 7,200 birds, and
109 species.
Charlton said that he is going to assign people to different areas, but like Butler, he also recommends people participate in their yards. Due to
COVID-19, “we’re encouraging backyard birding,” he said.
Both Charlton and Butler said that those who are not experienced in identifying birds can still participate. Charlton said that in a normal year, inexperienced birders would be paired with an expert, but this cannot happen this year due to the coronavirus.
Charlton recommended that if a participant doesn’t know the species of bird they are seeing, that they either write a detailed description of the bird, or take a photo. Butler said that a more general description would work.
“If you know it’s a duck, but you don’t know what kind of duck,” Butler said a participant can still note it as a duck.
To help with identifying the birds, Butler said that his virtual session at the library will include a guide to common birds found in Garland County. He also noted that there are numerous field guides and smartphone apps that can help identify birds.
In addition to these two counts, there will also be one in Arkadelphia on Dec. 19. There will be numerous others around the state, too, with Charlton pointing out other nearby ones including Little Rock on Dec. 19, Village Creek on Dec. 19, Redfield on Dec. 14 and Conway on Dec. 20.
In addition to calling the bird count fun, Butler also said that it is an important event. “It helps ornithologists get a feel for how birds are doing and see changes.”
As an example, Butler said, “we didn’t use to see Canada geese in Garland County and they are now abundant at all times of the year.”
“We can learn which birds are thriving and which are not,” Butler said.
The deadline sign up to participate is Dec. 18. To register, contact Charlton at 501- 620- 6751, or email Nathan_charlton@nps.gov.