YORKTON – The annual Yorkton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is set for Jan. 3, and everyone is welcome to participate.
“We are encouraging everyone with a bird feeder in their yard, anyone driving around or anyone who looks out into their yard or field to count the birds they see and mark down the species and number seen,” offered local volunteer Bonnie Rushowck.
“Any mammals seen such as rabbits, deer, coyotes can also be counted including tracks seen.”
Participants are remined if they drive around note your mileage as this will be included in their results.
Anyone within the city limits and a 24 KM radius is invited to participate.
Call 306-783-5898 to report your results. Please include your name and phone number and a list of the birds and mammals seen.
Take a photo of you or your family outside with binoculars if possible showing your bird counting in action!
This volunteer driven monitoring program has been running since 1900, adding to our understanding of how wild birds are doing across the country.
The Christmas Bird Count is North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project.
People in more than 2000 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere participate in the CBC each year. Birds Canada oversees the CBC program nationally, in partnership with National Audubon Society.
The program is driven largely by volunteer effort and supporter donations.
The information collected by thousands of Citizen Scientists forms one of the world’s largest sets of wildlife survey data.
Yorkton results will be compiled and included in the provincial results which are then forwarded on to be part of the Canadian total.
The results are used by conservation biologists, environmental planners, and naturalists to assess the population trends and distribution of birds.
