Christmas Bird Count at Rock Creek Park

On December 15, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count will again be held in Washington DC. We are always looking for volunteers to help with this count, and there are opportunities for beginners to get paired up with more experienced birders to learn the ropes of a Christmas Count.

DC Audubon has been assigned the quadrant of the park that includes favorites like Military Field, the Nature Center and the Maintenance Yard area. This is a good area for the usual winter suspects. A few years ago a Great Horned Owl was heard in the area on count day! A first in a very long time.

The action starts at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday at the Rock Creek Nature Center near Military and Beach Road. Teams divide up from there and walk prescribed routes and record all of the species and numbers of birds that can be seen and heard. Most of the time, the count is finished by 11 a.m. - noon and we meet up again at the Nature Center to turn in our count sheets and feast on doughnuts.

Please contact Denise Ryan if you are interested in participating. The National Audubon Society requests that each participant donates $5 to help offset the cost of the count and the compiling.

In years past Wild Turkeys, owls, and Northern Harriers have appeared on count day. Brown Creepers, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers to name a few. This is also an "irruption" year for many species when birds that winter farther North venture outside of their usual ranges. Come and help us document any rarities in Washington, DC!