2 days Ago By Dan Ferguson
Volunteers spotted close to 200 bird species during the 125th Christmas bird count in Langley, Surrey and White Rock on Saturday, Dec. 28. On Sunday, Mike Klotz, one of the organizers of this year’s count, reported preliminary totals for White Rock and Surrey were around 115 and the Langley tally was around 55, but not all lists were in.
"it went well," Klotz told the Langley Advance Times. "Weather smartened up and helped in the second half. There were no rare birds to report and it seemed a little quieter for total numbers, but species totals were similar [to previous counts].
' “I am deeply proud of the community’s dedication to helping gather vital information about our bird populations each year,” commented Klotz. In addition to birds found in the field, backyard feeders are also counted. “The trends we observe are shifting, with more birds adapting to suburban backyards as our communities expand into formerly wild spaces,” explained Klotz.
One more Christmas bird count is pending in the North Langley/North Surrey area on Saturday, Jan. 4, organized by the Langley Field Naturalists. Open to all levels of birders and people with bird-friendly backyards or feeders to help, prospective volunteers in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Langley (North Langley), can contact Eric Habisch at , and people in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Langley (North Surrey), can contact Gareth Pugh at or Wim Vesseur at .
Klotz thanked the Langley Field Naturalists for their "unwavering support of this important effort" in particular Bob and Sheila Puls "who laid the groundwork for the Langley count and whose leadership continues to inspire us." Klotz also praised Pugh’s efforts over the many years of his involvement saying. “We are grateful that he continues to be actively involved, tallying the numbers of our feathered friends of several counts,” Klotz said.
North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project, covering more than 2,000 locations throughout the western hemisphere, the Christmas Bird Count started in 1900 in response to a hunting contest known as the "Christmas side hunt." Groups of hunters would choose sides, take to the fields and forests, and shoot everything in sight. The side that returned with the largest pile of feathers or fur, won.
Concerned by a decline in the number and species of birds, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman suggested a new Christmas tradition, where, instead of hunting birds, people would count them instead. Information collected by thousands of Christmas bird count volunteers forms one of the world’s largest sets of wildlife survey data.
The results are used by conservation biologists, environmental planners, and naturalists to assess population trends and distribution of birds..
