COASTAL BIRD CONSERVATION PROGRAM SEEKS DATA

By Ella Tyler

The annual Christmas bird counts will begin on December 14 and continue for the next three weeks. In Texas, there will be counts at more than 40 sites. A complete list can be found at Houston Audubon’s website.

The first count was organized in 1900 by Frank Chapman, an Audubon Society officer, and the Audubon Society continues to be the group that coordinates the counts – which now occur on three continents – and records the data. Count results are used to help identify bird populations that need protection.

This year, for the first time, the Coastal Bird Conservation Program, a National Audubon Society project, is asking count participants to collect data for its program, too.

“We’re looking for specific information about sites where five species of threatened birds overwinter,” said Scott Hecker, director of the Coastal Bird Conservation Program. “Data from Christmas bird counts is currently recorded only for the entire 15-mile diameter count circle, but we need more detailed information to be able to direct conservation efforts to the specific sites that host the most birds.”

Hecker is asking birders who are doing a Christmas count in coastal areas to note and report exactly where Piping, Snowy or Wilson’s Plovers, Oystercatchers, and Red Knots were seen and how many of them there are at each site. He said the birds like sandy muddy areas, and can be seen feeding as tides go out, even in populated areas.

“The birds’ breeding sites along 1,100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico coast have been mapped, and that information is already being used to increase the protection of these sites,” Hecker said.

Hecker is also asking birders to collect and report information about the birds’ color bands, but cautioned that collecting banding data takes too long to do during a bird-count trip. He said that 178 Piping Plovers were at Bolivar Flats one day and 21 of that group were color-banded.

“Birds can have as many as five bands, all different colors, and it can take up to 15 minutes to record the data,” he said. “However, one person can contribute very valuable information about a species. Researchers spend a lot of time banding birds, but then we need to follow it up.”

Banding reports let researchers know, for example, that four different populations of Piping Plovers overwinter on the Texas coast.

To obtain forms for Coastal Bird Conservation Program reports, e-mail Hecker at coastalbirds@audubon.org or go online.

Most counts welcome novice birders as well as experts, although Hecker says that it is challenging for even expert birders to distinguish the different species of plovers. He said that Oystercatchers are easier to spot – they have a red bill that looks just like an oyster knife.

The Mad Island Marsh count, which generally takes the national award for highest count of the most species, is Dec 18. It is a rugged count, but many are much easier. The Buffalo Bayou Count on Dec 30 is centered at the Edith Moore Bird Sanctuary. It also includes a program for a back yard bird count.