I started off the new year (along with thousands of other bird lovers) taking part in the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. I did not know that the Audubon Society has conducted Christmas bird counts since 1900. Volunteers from across North America and beyond take to the field during one calendar day between December 14 and January 5 to record every bird species and individual bird encountered within a designated 15-mile diameter circle. These records now comprise an extensive ornithological database that enables monitoring of winter bird populations and the overall health of the environment.

I was part of the Carefree, Arizona Count (just 15 min from me) and I was excited to take part. I don’t mind admitting, though, walking all day was tiring! However, it was well worth the rewards of added bird knowledge gained from the experts I assisted. Most exciting for me was several occasions where my Canon SX50 provided identification where binoculars could not! One of these was a Loggerhead Shrike which was literally a dot on a tree branch. Not only was it too far away for everyone’s binoculars but we were looking into the sun so it was a silhouette. The image below is a very tight crop but it is clearly a Shrike. The other was a Red-Tailed Hawk. Also just a dot on top of a tower. Another highlight was seeing a Sage Sparrow (a first for me). As it turns out, it is not always spotted so it was a treat for everyone to see.

All in all, a really fun day and I hope to help out again next year. If you love birds, check out your local Audubon Society and become part of your state’s count next year! Here are some images from the day. Click on an image to enlarge. Look for navigation (next/previous) at top right of page.