-- What a cool event --

The Sarasota Audubon Society is gearing up to count local bird species and individual birds in one big day of birding. The 106th Christmas Bird Count is Saturday, December 17, 2005. This national event first started in 1900 when ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the National Audubon Society, proposed a census that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them as was the tradition.

In Sarasota, the count has been crafted into a fine art. The radius of the count circle is 7.5 miles, with an epicenter at Bee Ridge and Beneva Roads. In the week before the count, several Sarasota Auduboners travel the circle to scout the birds that are present in the area. If a rare or unexpected bird is seen, the team leader is alerted to look for that specific bird on count day.

On December 17, fifteen teams of 4-5 people each will venture out from dawn until dusk to search for and document birds. Two experienced birders who know where certain species can be spotted will serve as roving counters. At least one participant will rise at 2 a.m. to search for local owl species. Data including the number of species counted, the number of individual birds sighted, the number of hours spent in the field and weather conditions is submitted to the National Audubon Society. Along with more than 2,000 count circles around the U.S. and Canada, the data is used by scientific groups to get an overview of changing habitat and migration patterns.

Last year's Christmas Bird Count in Sarasota included 60 people in 15 teams and many people calling in sightings from backyards. A record 151 species for the circle were counted, placing the Sarasota Audubon Society in eighth place (out of 62) for Florida and eighty-second (out of 2,002) in the US and Canada. 27,630 birds in all were counted locally by the Sarasota Audubon Society.

For information on last year's bird count results log onto www.sarasotaaudubon.org.
Data from this year's bird count will be available by the end of the year.

For more information, contact Jeanne Dubi at 355-1709.