Christmas Bird Count at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

On Saturday, December 15, at Hagerman NWR, volunteers will take part in a 113 year-old tradition established by the Audubon Society that has become known as the Christmas Bird Count.  Now hundreds of such counts, each one based in a 15-mile diameter circle, take place between  December 14  and January 5 each year. 

The task of the counters is to find and identify all the birds they can within the designated circle. The data collected in all these censuses have become one of the world’s most complete and long-term data sets on bird populations.  Most  Christmas counts cover the daylight hours and include a few hours of owl searching at night.

People of all interest levels have an opportunity to contribute to this grand project.  Being a birding expert is not necessary to aiding in the effort, according to Dr. Wayne Meyer, organizer for the Hagerman NWR Count, who says “The Hagerman NWR Christmas count circle is divided into six areas and each area has a designated leader who is skilled in identification.  What each team leader needs most is extra eyes to find the birds.  You don’t even have to commit to an all day search.  Several of our areas are small enough to be covered in half a day.” 

According to Audubon’s annual CBC report, American Birds, the 112th count was a record setter, with a total of 2248 CBC’s held in the US and Canada.  Texas was third in number of CBC’s, behind California and Ontario; there were 109 Texas counts, with Matagorda Island - Mad Island Marsh turning in the highest bird count number of species, 244.  HNWR reported 119 species.  Last year, Austin, Texas set the record for the number of CBC participants, 116! 

Two of the Austin counters were participants who counted birds at their home feeders, another way people can contribute.  Any bird feeders within the count circle can be included in the day’s tally.  If you live in the Hagerman Circle but don’t wish to spend part of your day in the field you can be a feeder watcher.  The Hagerman NWR Circle includes the communities of Pottsboro, Sherwood Shores, Cedar Mills, Mill Creek, Locust, Fink, Tanglewood, Georgetown, Preston and Gordonville.

For those unable to make it to Hagerman on December 15, or who do not live in the Hagerman NWR Circle, Audubon offers links to Counts across the country. 

All who want to participate at Hagerman NWR are to meet at the Friends of Hagerman building (formerly known as AV Center) at 7:00 AM to divide into teams.  Anyone interested in searching for owls is welcome to meet Dr. Meyer at the Friends building at 4:45 AM.  The Friends of Hagerman NWR will be hosting a compilation social at 5:00 PM, complete with supper!  All participants are encouraged to attend as the day’s results are added up.  Dr. Meyer says, “If you want to participate you can just show up on count day, but it would help my planning if you let me know you’ll be coming ahead of time.  You can send a message via comments or CONTACT  on the Friends website."

Hagerman NWR is located at 6465 Refuge Road, Sherman, Texas, 75092, on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma.

Audubon’s 112th Christmas Bird Count Is Model for “Crowd Science”

The Christmas Bird Count at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge will take place on Saturday, December 17. To participate, contact the Friends of Hagerman. For the post this week we have a press release from the national Audubon Society about the annual event:

The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will take place from December 14, 2011 to January 5, 2012. Tens of thousands of volunteers throughout North America will brave winter weather to add a new layer to over a century of data.

“Audubon was a social network before the world ever heard the term,” notes David Yarnold, Audubon President & CEO. “Each December the buzz from our social network goes up a few decibels, as people with the knowledge and the passion for birds provide what no organization alone can.”

“It’s a globally recognized example of crowd-science,” says Gary Langham, Audubon’s Chief Scientist, who took his young daughter and wife on last year’s CBC. “Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count is also a tradition that does good things for families, communities, and the conservation movement.”

Scientists rely on the remarkable trend data of Audubon’s CBC to better understand how birds are faring in North America and beyond our borders. “Data from Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds peer-reviewed scientific studies,” adds Dr. Langham; “CBC data have informed the U. S. State of the Birds Report, issued by the Department of the Interior, and modeled after Audubon’s annual reports begun in 2004. For example, in 2009, CBC analyses revealed the dramatic impact Climate Change is already having on birds across the continent."

“Everyone who takes part in the Christmas Bird Count plays a critical role in helping us focus attention and conservation where it is most needed.” said Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count Director, Geoff LeBaron. “In addition to Audubon’s reports on the impacts of Climate Change on birds and our analysis of Common Birds in Decline, it is the foundation for Audubon’s WatchList, which most identified species in dire need of conservation help.”

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 when Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore (which evolved into Audubon magazine) suggested an alternative to the “side hunt,” in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most game, including birds. Chapman proposed that people “hunt” birds only to count them. Chapman’s initiative was described by British actor John Cleese in this video clip from The Big Year.

Last year’s count shattered records. A total of 2,215 counts and 62,624 people tallied over 60 million birds. Counts took place in all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. The first ever CBC tally was submitted from Haiti, where the count circle is located at Les Cayes, the birthplace of John James Audubon. In Colombia, the Audubon count is a crucially important monitoring system of biodiversity in the country. More about last year’s results here.

Audubon CBC data not only helps identify birds in most urgent need of conservation action; it reveals success stories. The Christmas Bird Count helped document the comeback of the previously endangered Bald Eagle, and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of conservation efforts.

Counts are often family or community traditions that make for fascinating stories. Accuracy is assured by having new participants join an established group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle or can arrange in advance to count the birds at home feeders inside the circle and submit the results to a designated compiler. All individual Christmas Bird Counts are conducted between December 14 and January 5 (inclusive) each season, with each individual count occupying a single calendar day.

The journal Nature issued an editorial citing CBC as a "model" for Citizen Science.

A New York Times opinion piece captured the pleasure and precision of counting: “The personal joy they experience from patiently spotting and jotting down each flitting fellow creature, exotic or not, is balanced by a strong pragmatic factor in the management of the census by the National Audubon Society.”

Photo of Geese at Hagerman NWR by Robert Cummings

Swallows at Hagerman Wildlife Refuge

Anyone who has driven through Hagerman Wildlife Refuge in the last few weeks has probably noticed the flocks of swallows darting through the air. Until Marolyn and I stopped and really spent time trying to photograph these birds, we were not aware that there were different species of swallows all flocked together. We talked to Jack Chiles, (our "go to guy" for bird identification at Hagerman) who informed us that there are three easily seen species of swallows in Hagerman -- Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, and Bank Swallows. The Purple Martin, along with a few other much less common species (Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Tree Swallow), can also be observed. Now, the challenge -- see, identify and photograph each of the three most abundant and easily seen species of swallows. Seeing and identifying was not a problem, but photographing swallows, especially in flight, can be very frustrating.

The Barn Swallow is very distinctive with deep blue plumage above, orange to buff color on its breast and belly while the throat and forehead are rust in color. It is the only North American swallow with buffy to cinnamon under parts and under wing linings and a white-spotted, deeply forked tail. This swallow looks as if it is wearing a mask due to the line between the deep blue of the head and the rust color on the throat. Probably the most distinctive feature of the Barn Swallow is the deeply forked tail.

The Bank Swallow is America's smallest swallow. It is brown above with wings and back slighter darker. The underside is mostly white with the exception of a distinctive brown breast band below a white throat. These swallows have long slender wings with a slightly forked tail.

The Cliff Swallow is sometimes confused with the Barn Swallow. They both have deep blue backs, but the Cliff Swallow has a light colored belly, dark throat and light brown to rust face. A very distinctive white forehead and square tail help to distinguish the Cliff Swallow from the Barn Swallow. Sometimes two white streaks can be seen down the back of the Cliff Swallow.

The habitat, behavior and diet are very similar among the three species of swallows found in Hagerman. All feed mostly on flying insects, usually above water and near their nest which for the Cliff and Barn Swallow is built under the eaves of buildings and bridges. The Bank Swallow's nest is built in the banks of sandy cliffs. In Hagerman, most feeding and nesting is seen in and around the bridges. Some foraging can be seen over open fields.

These swallows are long distance migratory birds. The Barn, Cliff and Bank Swallows all head to Central and/or South America for the winter and usually begin their migration south when their young become independent and ready for the long flight.

A point of interest -- the killing of Barn Swallows for their deep blue feathers was one of the issues that led to the founding of the Audubon Society and legislation to protect migratory birds.

Now you know -- all those swallows buzzing around Hagerman are not the same and now you, too, can identify them.

Written by Skeeter & Marolyn Lasuzzo

Photography By Skeeter Lasuzzo

For more information about HAgerman National Wildlife Refuge, the official website is http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html and for more on the Friends, see http://www.friendsofhagerman.com.