Rydell and Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) will be hosting their 8th Annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 15. This event is administered by the National Audubon Society and is the longest-running citizen science bird project in the U.S. This year marks the 123rd year of the Christmas Bird Count.
Counts are held in designated areas throughout the U.S. between December 14 and January 5 each year. In recent years, counts were annually completed 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 each year!
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 seven years have included 50 different species, including northern shrikes, Bohemian waxwings, bald eagles, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, northern goshawks, 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 a.m. for coffee and a brief meeting. Bring binoculars and a bird book if you have them. If not, they’ll have some on hand for your use. Counting will take place within a 15-mile diameter circle that stretches 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 back at the Visitor Center at noon. After a hearty lunch, folks can “call it a day” or can go back out and continue to search for birds.
Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, December 13 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 or need more information.
