This year’s Christmas Bird Count in the San Juan Islands is on Saturday, Dec. 15.  More than 60,000 volunteers across the country will be counting birds from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5 to participate in the world’s longest running wildlife census that begun in 1900.

Each count area is a 15-mile diameter circle – about 177 square miles with the San Juan circle centered at the Friday Harbor Labs. Areas are assigned to teams but you don’t necessarily have to go out with a group – you could count birds on your road with your neighbors or by yourself or with your family in your own yard or on your property. They also want people to send in their feeder reports.

Even if you don’t count, organizers ask to look out for: small hawks, mourning doves, owls, hummingbirds, sapsuckers, shrikes, jays, western bluebirds or any out of place or out of season bird.

“If you live on the shoreline we need your help with shorebirds and marine birds,” say organizers.

This CBC will be larger than ever, expanding its geographical coverage. Volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands, count and record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area.

Several changes have been made to entice birdwatchers to participate. The $5 fee will be dropped, the annual published report, “American Birds,” will go digital in 2013, and the online information will be available in Spanish for the first time.

“This is not just about counting birds,” says Gary Langham, Audubon’s chief scientist. “Data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds peer-reviewed scientific studies and inform decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and the EPA.”

Many routes need better coverage so call today to see what we have for you. For more information and to join call: Barbara Jensen, 378-3068.