Rydell and Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuges will host their 10th Annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 19th. This public event, administered by the National Audubon Society, is the longest-running citizen science bird project in the U.S. This year marks the 125th year of the Christmas Bird Count.
Counts are held in designated areas between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 each year. In recent years, counts have been completed annually in over 2,500 locations, including Canada and Latin America.
More than 75,000 people participate in the counts, and more than 50 million birds are tallied yearly!
Information from the count provides important information on winter ranges of birds, population trends, and how a changing climate alters winter bird distribution. Birds observed in the Rydell/Glacial Ridge Count Circle over the past nine years have included 57 different species, including northern shrikes, Bohemian waxwings, red-bellied woodpeckers, snowy owls, northern goshawks, white-winged crossbills, and Lapland longspurs.
People interested in participating do not need to be experienced birders. This event can serve as a learning experience for new birders, and those individuals will be paired up with Refuge staff or experienced volunteers. Participants should meet at the Rydell NWR Visitor Center at 8:00 am for coffee and a brief meeting. Bring binoculars and a bird book if you have them. If not, we’ll have some on hand for your use. Counting will occur within a 15-mile diameter circle stretching from Erskine west to the center of Glacial Ridge NWR. Participants can count from a vehicle or on foot, depending on their preference and the weather conditions that day.
Refuge staff will host a potluck lunch at noon at the Visitor Center. After a hearty lunch, folks can “call it a day” or go back out and continue to search for birds.
Please RSVP no later than December 16th to Wildlife Biologist Ben Walker at 218-230-5563 or benjamin_walker@fws.gov. Ben can also help if you have questions about the count.
