David Jerome
Correspondent

Sunday, Dec. 19, birders flocked to these mountains to participate in the 122nd-annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC).

Started in 1900 to promote conservation by counting birds instead of hunting them, CBC has continued even during the pandemic. This early-winter national bird count is one of the most important bird censuses in the Western Hemisphere. From 27 dedicated birders in the first year the count has grown to thousands of volunteers. More than 70,000 volunteers counted in 2019, and last year, during the pandemic, almost 60,000 showed up.

The counts happen between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, with each “circle compiler” choosing a single day for the local count, and then organizing volunteers to follow specified routes through a 15-mile circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day, and in some cases into the evening “owling” hours.

Dedicated birders often participate in a number of bird counts in nearby or favorite circles, and the spread in days makes this possible. Beginners are paired with more experienced birders, but all must contact a compiler and be assigned a route. Participation is free, supported by donations to the Audubon Society.

“Effort data” is collected so that number of observer hours can be compared year to year. The Audubon Society manages the historic database and makes the data available to researchers. CBC has created one of the largest pools of information on the condition of birds in the Americas.

Last year organizers adjusted their practices to be more COVID-safe. Although there were fewer participants, they formed smaller circles and spent more time on foot. With good weather, the results were within normal year-to-year variability, maintaining the viability of the census. Summaries of past counts can be read at Audubon.org. There you also can read that half of the bird species that breed in North America and winter in the tropics are in decline, and that North America has lost about a quarter of its bird population over the last 50 years.

Idyllwild’s Robin Roberts was the local compiler. She reports that this year 26 birders showed up, including one from Lake Elsinore, and “really dedicated people who were out at 4 in the morning looking for owls… The youngest participant was 7-years-old. The grandfather brought his son out at 7, and now to continue the tradition they brought the grandson this year.”

She described the edges of the Hill’s circle as “… Bautista Canyon, Tahquitz Peak (no one made it up there), over to Lake Fulmor and Lake Hemet/Garner Valley… Because the circle covers big habitat and altitude changes it includes a wide variety of species. [This year] our group found 107 species.”

Among Robert’s personal favorites were “… one that only comes here in winter that I personally love to see, a Ferruginous Hawk, and a White-tailed Kite, a pretty raptor, all white. And a Ring-necked Duck.”

About the effect of the pandemic on the count she added, “Last year people only went out by themselves or in small pods, but this year, maybe with vaccines, people were a little more comfortable, and it was outside.”

Roberts also has created a handsome, informative and entertaining website for aspiring birdwatchers in the San Jacinto Mountains. It includes many resources and links: birding.mountainquailpress.com

The Idyllwild Nature Center was one local count site. Park Ranger Steve Perez added, “We participated last year as well. It’s a wonderful place thanks to our well developed birding amenites. It’s also neat for me to see our incidental visitors seeing so many bird watchers in action as it piques their interest and perhaps gets them interested in the hobby!”

The Nature Center’s support group, Friends of the San Jacinto Mountain County Parks, has supported recent projects there, including new hummingbird feeders, improvements to the fireplace area, trail signage and a 1,000-gallon rainwater capture tank. The tank will be used to supply birding deck water features.

One of Perez’s goals for the new year is funding for “site appropriate” playground equipment. “Having playground equipment that children in their group (and all children frankly) can use would be a great addition to our park. The Friends board recently tabled the request pending results from an upcoming survey. If you’re a Friends’ member, it would be very helpful if you indicated your support for this on the … survey.”