Birding enthusiasts are encouraged to keep a more than 20-year-old Santa Clara County tradition alive by participating in the Christmas Bird Count this December.
The Christmas Bird Count is actually a collection of hundreds of local events sponsored by the National Audubon Society. This year, the San Jose count will be held on Dec. 14. This is one of the longest-running counts in the area.
The area covered by this count includes Alviso, Calaveras, the Eastern Foothills, Alum Rock, San Jose urban parks and creeks, urban parks and creeks in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, Agnews and Lake Cunningham.
Each event must take place over a 24-hour period and covers a 15-mile diameter circle. The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society sponsors four counts that cover some part of Santa Clara County.
The other count that covers part of Sunnyvale is the Palo Alto count. It includes the Bay Trail, north of the Baylands, and takes place on Dec. 15.
It offers many different habitats to count, including shoreline, woodlands, lake-side, riparian and urban parks in areas of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Alviso.
Organizations use data collected in this wildlife census that can be traced back to the early 1900s to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation action. There are an estimated 177 bird species documented in the Santa Clara Valley.
Counters with less experience are teamed with those with more experience.
“Even if beginning birders can’t identify every bird, they provide important ‘extra eyes’ in finding birds,” said Kirsten Holmquist, compiler of the San Jose Christmas Bird Count.
A countdown dinner is held on the evening of the count, where groups can share their results.
Since 2012, the National Audubon Society publishes all Christmas Bird Counts online at birds.audubon.org/Christmas-bird-count.
For more information, contact Kirsten Holmquist before Dec. 10 at 408.747.0988 or email her at kirsten.holmquist@comcast.net.
