By Amber Prinkey
With the increased focus on nature that has happened over the past year and a half because of Covid, why not continue by participating in this year’s Christmas Bird Count which lasts from December 14 to January 5? Ornithologist Frank M Chapman created the Christmas Bird Count in 1900 to bring more attention to conservation efforts. He and his fellow conservationists thought we should be counting the birds instead of hunting them! This work continues and helps the Audubon society understand bird populations. There are rules and a sign up required, get the details here: https://www.audubon.org/answers-your-top-questions-about-christmas-bird-count
If competition is your thing, consider a Big Year. Just like the 2011 movie shows us, birders compete to see the most bird species in the U.S. in an entire year. The current record was set in 2019 and stands at 836 of the just over a thousand species here in the U.S. There are also worldwide competitions to see as many of the over 10,000 bird species we know of, that record stands at 6,852. That’s a lot of birds!
If you’re like us here at Sawgrass Nature Center and just want to enjoy birds whenever and wherever consider a life list. This is just a list of birds you’ve seen. No pressure, just enjoyment of birds and their silly, strange, fun, and beautiful behaviors.
Want to learn more about birds? Book a Bird Adaptations class with us. Your group will learn about birds, see them up close, and even dissect pellets from them! See our website for details.
A flock of Mourning Doves visits the field at our nature center