Here's how you can participate in the Pittsburgh Christmas bird count
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It's the most wonderful time of the year for birdwatchers because the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania's Christmas bird count is officially underway across the Western Hemisphere.
A little bird told KDKA Reporter Jessica Guay anyone can join the flock and help tally the birds soaring around the Pittsburgh area the weekend after Christmas no matter how old you are or your birding experience level.
Christmas time is here, and bird is the word. People are turning their eyes to the sky for the 125th Audubon Christmas bird count, the world's longest-running citizen science project. It started in 1900 so scientists would have the ability to understand what's going on with bird populations.
"It gets people all over North America outside around Christmas time to count birds, and it gives us so much more information than any one scientist could really ever collect on his or her own," said Rachel Handel, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania's communications director.
The Pittsburgh bird count will take place the Saturday after Christmas, Dec. 28.
Handel said 215 people participated in the Pittsburgh bird count last year, and they counted 39,946 birds, including a large number of crows and 75 other species.
"That included a golden-crown kinglet that also included numerous red-wing blackbirds. So, lots of diversity in our area and showing that the overall health of birds in our area is very strong," she said.
Your eyes will be a huge help whether you're counting crows, cardinals, blue jays, hawks, bald eagles or maybe even red-headed woodpeckers.
The striking woodpeckers have been stirring up excitement at North Park in recent weeks.
"It's something you don't have to have any experience to do. So, you can be matched with someone who is a seasoned birder. Or you can even count from your own backyard just looking at a feeder," Handel said.
Other planned bird counts in the region include the South Butler bird count on Dec. 29. Also, the Buffalo Creek Valley and the Mon Valley bird counts were completed last weekend. Handel said they had a good turnout.
In the Mon Valley bird count last weekend, 3,147 birds were counted across 53 species. Handel said observers counted a high number of crows again.
"The data that we have seen from last weekend shows that our bird populations seem very stable, which is great," Handel said.
The data collected from the counts will be used to measure changes in the environment and the health of bird populations.
"Birds are indicators. And we always say where there's a healthy bird population, a healthy human population follows," Handel said.
"We can learn things about birds' patterns, bird sightings, birds' numbers. We can also look at our bird's territories changing. So, can that perhaps be attributable to climate change? There's a lot of information that we can glean just from knowing how many birds of a particular species are in our region," she added.
So, gear up to flock outdoors and start counting in the Pittsburgh area. To get started, you have to find your closest bird count circle, and they'll tell you where to meet up to start counting. Several bird counts are happening across the region. There's a map that shows you where your count circle is.
