Article submitted by Preston Miles

The local effort of the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count was conducted on December 20, with thirty-two volunteer observers.   A total of fifty-five species were positively identified. As expected, there were many cardinals and robins and doves.  Most interesting were several mallards, a few slightly-out-of-season American goldfinches, and one loggerhead shrike.   

 

The Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is one of the most long-standing opportunities in which volunteers may become involved in scientific research.   The first CBC was in 1900 and has now grown to 2,677 locations throughout North America, involving over eighty thousand participants.   Data collected by observers over the past century allow conservation biologists and wildlife agencies to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America and provide a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space. 

 

The local effort goes back to 1949 and has been continuous every year since.   The local search area is a circle with a 3 mile radius, centered on the Boyle County Courthouse and includes most of Boyle County and parts of Lincoln, Garrard, and Mercer counties. 

 

Mary Trollinger, one of the 2024 CBC “birders” said, “You never know what you might see!  Late in the morning, we saw a cedar waxwing and celebrated like we’d caught a glimpse of Taylor Swift!” 

 

Persons interested in participating in the 2025 effort can make contact through the Audubon Society website.