Topic: The 53rd Evergreen Audubon Christmas Count–Let’s get ready!
Speaker: Chuck Aid, Evergreen Audubon Bird Monitoring Chairperson
Location: At the Evergreen Christian Church or via Join via Zoom

As winter approaches in our Evergreen World, we observe the annual changes we have come to expect. The elk are dispersing, moving to winter habitat, even as the Mule Deer

are completing their rut.  We have experienced snowstorms and can expect more snow on the ground and frosting the Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pines. Activity at our feeders is as busy as ever.  We also are experiencing other unanticipated changes as our state and nation continue to experience and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One thing that has not changed, pandemic or not, is our Chapter’s dedication to one of our most cherished and longest-running traditions: the 53rd Evergreen-Idaho Springs Christmas Bird Count (CBC), which will be held on Sunday, Dec. 19th!

Similar to last year’s CBC, this year’s count will be conducted in a manner to ensure that we count birds using current social distancing guidelines and practices that ensure safe and healthy birding experiences. Similar to the 2020 CBC, 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 while maintaining social distancing, and wear masks when in close proximity to one another. However, we feel that, unlike last year, conditions have improved such that we will be holding the traditional face-to-face Tally Rally at the end of the day!

One aspect that won’t change will be our preparation for the CBC; our December Chapter meeting presentation will be our traditional Christmas Bird Count review, led by Chuck Aid, our Director of Bird Monitoring.  Our December 2021 Chapter meeting will be both in-person and virtual, similar to our other chapter meetings since August 2021. Plan to join us in person at Evergreen Christian Church, or virtually at 6:45 pm on Thursday, December 2, 2021, and bring your fellow members up on your most recent sightings. The presentation will start at ~7:10 pm, after a brief business meeting.

Our December Chapter Meeting will have options for both in-person and virtual participation.  For those attending in person, masks will be required. If you prefer to join the meeting virtually, here is the link: :

Chuck will be reviewing the procedures for the count, our count day agenda, and providing an overview of our count circle. Chuck will describe the COVID safe procedures we will be using, introduce the leaders for each area within our count circle and then explain the protocols we and all CBCs use for conducting the count. The best part of the meeting will follow when Chuck leads us on a visual review of the species we are likely to encounter and tips on the subtler distinctions between similar species and races, culminating in the always popular ID quiz, where we get to test our skills in identifying some of our winter birds. Chuck’s fondest hope is that, beyond the “aha” moments we experience as we review for the Christmas Bird Count, we also will increase our enjoyment of our winter birds. Full details on the Evergreen Audubon Christmas Bird Count can be found at:

https://evergreenaudubon.org/events/evergreen-idaho-springs-christmas-bird-count-2021/

So, plan on being at Evergreen Christian Church by 6:45 pm on Thursday, December 2, 2021, or log into the Zoom meeting link for our December Chapter meeting. Expect to get excited and enthused for Count day while sharpening your ID skills so that you will be ready for the Christmas Bird Count and the wealth of winter birding you can experience in our Evergreen Winter World!

Chuck Aid, the Evergreen Audubon Director of Bird Monitoring, has been getting back to his birding roots since moving to Evergreen in 2010. At that time, he retired from teaching

in the Cherry Creek School District, and at the request of a former colleague and Evergreen Audubon current president Brad Andres, Chuck joined the Evergreen Audubon board of directors.

Prior to teaching middle school science, Chuck worked three years managing the CU Mountain Research Station near Ward, and four years as the Mexico program coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, where his Spanish background proved valuable. Chuck graduated from Prescott College in Arizona and earned a master’s in biology from the University of Colorado. His thesis work took him to Fort Huachauca in southeastern Arizona, where he studied the effects of fire on grassland birds.

Initially, Chuck was the EA Director of Conservation, and in more recent years has switched over to being Director of Bird Monitoring. One of his primary tasks has been coordinating the Bear Creek Watershed Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), which began in 2008, and like other BBA’s that are conducted worldwide is designed to provide information on the distribution, abundance, habitat preference, and breeding success of birds in a specific region.

Many Evergreen Audubon members know Chuck through the monthly bird walks he leads for our Chapter. These bird walks are highly anticipated and well attended, due to Chuck’s in-depth, integrated knowledge of bird identification, botany, and ecology. It is no wonder that they are usually oversubscribed. Most recently Chuck has refocused several of these walks for beginners. This new direction is a direct reflection of Chuck’s desire to open nature’s playground to young and old, and to bring everyone into closer relationship with nature and our local birds. Chuck also leads regular bird walks for the Front Range Birding Company, so there are many opportunities to learn from and bird with Chuck.
Our December Chapter Meeting presentation will prepare us to be the best citizen scientists we can be as we get ready for our 53rd Evergreen-Idaho Springs Christmas Bird Count. Regardless of whether you attend in person or virtually, please connect with your fellow Evergreen Audubon members for this exciting Chapter Meeting!