On Sunday, Dec. 20, Evergreen Audubon will conduct the 52^nd Christmas Bird Count for the Evergreen-Idaho Springs area.  Ours is one of over 2500 Christmas counts held each year throughout the Western Hemisphere.

On that day, we will head out in small groups to find as many species and individual birds as we can in a 15-mile-diameter circle that extends from Robinson Hill Road on the north to just south of the Brook Forest Inn; and from near Echo Lake on the west to the bottom of Kerr Gulch on the east. Historically, we have actively encouraged folks of all abilities and ages to participate by joining one of our groups for all, or part, of the day.  Given the constraints of Covid-19, this year will be coordinated differently.  We will have groups in the field, but they will need to be limited to just a few people who will drive in separate cars, hike at a distance from one another, and wear masks when in close proximity to one another. As a result, we may not be able to accommodate all interested field observers as in the past.

What would really keep us all safe and make this another great Christmas Bird Count would be if we can get you to be a Feeder Counter, where you focus on the birds in the immediate vicinity of your home – the ones at your feeders and whatever else might cruise through your yard.  Contact me, Chuck Aid, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., if you would like to be a Feeder Counter.

Each year we seem to have several interesting stories that emerge from our day in the field. In 2014 it snowed all day and drove large numbers of Pine Grosbeaks and Cassin’s Finches down from the higher elevations. In 2015 we had gloriously mild weather allowing us to record almost 2,000 more individual birds than the prior year, and to set a new record for our area of 57 species. Then, 2016 was the Year of the Juncos, with 2,171 individuals of this one species. Next, 2017 was the No Snow Year leading to low counts for the Rosy-Finches, and in 2018 we trumped ourselves again by finding 58 species, doing well with species from both lower and higher elevations.  Last year, 2019, our species count dropped back to 49, which has been our average, but, overall, we had pretty good numbers of individual birds – including two Trumpeter Swans.

As usual, this year we will continue to pay special attention to the Mountain Chickadees and Pygmy Nuthatches, looking to record high counts in the hope that we can once again be the world champs for both of these species. We have been the Mountain Chickadee world champs for several years in a row now, but those rascals out in San Francisco have been giving us a nip-and-tuck competition for the Pygmy Nuthatch high count.

Traditionally we have ended the day with one of Evergreen Audubon’s premier events, the Tally Rally, where we have shared good food along with the results of our day counting birds.  Sad to say, excuse my tears, there will be no Tally Rally this year.  Instead we will be compiling our results through a virtual computer gathering – details will be forthcoming.

You are invited to attend Evergreen Audubon’s December 3^rd virtual chapter meeting where you can learn more about the Christmas Bird Count, and we will have a review of birds that we may potentially encounter on Dec 20^th.

You may register here if you wish to be involved either as a Feeder Counter or to possibly join a group – no guarantees.  If you are an old hand at this, you may just get in touch with whatever area leader you have gone out with previously to see how they are hoping to orchestrate their day in the field.  The bottom line – if you want to make sure that you are in the loop, register here, and I will be in touch.  Again, there are no guarantees, but I’ll see what I can do.

Thanks,

Chuck Aid, Director of Bird Monitoring