.jpg)
Tis the season for the Christmas Bird Count and elsewhere. Ely will have its count on the Winter Solstice, Saturday, Dec. 21. That will give participants any amount of time they want to spend observing, recording, and reporting their findings.
Call or Contact Bill Tefft who coordinates this count for the Ely Field Naturalists, the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union and the people who would like to share in what our group can discover about birds in winter. I have the count area map and a growing list of participants with their names, contact information, and locations where they have volunteered to count. 218-2358078. [email protected]
Any age can volunteer and participate as individuals or families or friends and neighbors. Yesterday, I walked a few blocks in Ely after school with elementary students. We previously reviewed the list of birds typically seen on this count. With their enthusiasm, that many eyes and some binoculars, we counted some the birds we saw over that distance and amount of time and 19 participants. Mostly common ravens and rock doves, plus one European starling was observed. One group of small birds were in flight and unidentified.
Where are the birds? Birds were often seen and identified in flight. But we located places that might attract birds sometimes. Bird feeders if they were filled. Paper birch trees with lots of seeds on branches and the surrounding snow would be food of redpolls, pine siskins and other finches. Mountain ash and other trees with an abundance of fruit that might attract Bohemian waxwings, American robins, crows, ravens or jays. Tall pines, fir and spruce trees this cones at the top bearing seeds for grosbeaks, crossbills, red-breasted nuthatches etc.
Where can you count? Ely CBC and every other bird count area takes place in a circle 15 miles in diameter. The best place to look at the circle is to visit the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union website at www.mnmou.org. After going to this website, go to Other Resources, Minnesota CBCs, MN CBC Locations map, Click on Ely circle to open the Map.
Then you can zoom in to find where you live or any other area within the circle that you might want to explore, walk, visit, ski, hike or discuss to claim for your area within the circle. I need to know this by Friday so I can coordinate and share it with other counters.
Questions? You may have questions and need more information. I will need to contact you to get your data recording, counting guidelines, and reporting protocols for your list of birds, numbers of each, etc.
Wrap up session at 4 p.m. on Saturday, anyone who would like to join us at Grand Ely Lodge. You will have the option to order from a limited menu, eat, join in the accounts of the day and the initial tally of the count. You need to RSVP to me by Friday at 2 p.m. if you and any others plan to attend.
