APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It bills itself as the longest running citizen survey in North America. The 121st Christmas Bird Count is underway throughout our area and much of the western hemisphere.
The effort is designed to track bird populations and trends.
On the bank of the Fox River in Appleton, veteran bird watcher Dar Tiede is dialing in.
Tiede is getting ready for the Christmas Bird Count. For 121 years, the Audubon Society survey provides a snapshot of birds wintering in the area.
“This data is used by conservationists, and ornithologists to look at changes over the years in the patterns of birds.”
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, over the last 50 years, nearly 30% of all North American birds have disappeared. Tiede says he’s noticed the trend too.
Appleton’s official count is on Saturday. During the 23-day event, people will be assigned one day, to document as many birds as they can, within a designated survey site.
That includes bird feeders. Heckrodt Wetland Reserve Education Director Luke Schiller tells FOX 11 it’s part of the program.
“If you’re able to sit in your yard, or in your living room window to observe birds that naturally occur, why not count that? It’s still part of that circle, and that data drives numbers, and those numbers drive meaningful change.”
Back along the Fox River, Dar Tiede has some more ducks in sight.
“Those are female common mergansers. The reddish head, yes. There’s a goldeneye right in front of them, that just dove. That’s the other nice thing about birding. You just never know what might show up. Could be a surprise.”
The Christmas Bird Count runs from December 14th to January 5th each season.
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