The Christmas Bird Count season is here once again. There will be opportunities for ARMN members to participate in this great citizen science effort with a 114-year history this season.
The first counts begin this Saturday, 14 December 2013 and the last counts take place Sunday, 5 January 2014. Popular for ARMN volunteers are the DC Count on 12/14/13 and the Fort Belvoir count on 1/5/14.
This great Virginia Society of Ornithology page lists the known counts and points of contact in Virginia and links to a Maryland site: http://www.virginiabirds.net/cbc.html
Jim Olivetti, a graduate of the first ARMN training class in the fall of 2008, sent this photo of a snowy owl taken near his home in Massachusetts.
A friend of Jim’s took this photo on December 8 on the Massachusetts Bay beach causeway leading to the town of Nahant, 12 miles north of Boston. Jim follows ARMN activities from afar and sends this photo with holiday greetings to all.
There are also reported sightings of Snowy Owls at Manassas Battlefield and at Dulles Airport. Volunteers participating in this weekend’s Christmas Bird Count may be in for a treat!
There is still time to sign up for the 114th annual Christmas Bird Count: http://birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count-find-count-near-you.
Participation counts for volunteer hours and may count for advanced training.