Turkeys are not the only Christmas birds

Christmas is for the birds! That’s the annual message from the Audubon Society.

Last week, volunteers from the Willapa Hills chapter of the Audubon Society braved rain, wind and snow to count a total of 115 bird species in parts of Wahkiakum, Clatsop and Cowlitz counties after Christmas.

The bird count event isn't new. For over 100 years Audubon Society members and volunteers nationwide have counted birds a few days after Christmas. In the early days, prior to the turn of the century, bird counting had a slightly different meaning.

One hundred years ago people put a "slightly different spin" on counting birds when they engaged in the holiday tradition known as - the Christmas "Side Hunt." After Christmas groups of hunters would choose sides and whoever shot the biggest pile of our feathered and furry friends, won.

"There are pictures of stacks of dead animals as tall as the man standing next to them," said Willapa Hills Audubon bird count organizer Andrew Emlen. "It's pretty amazing."

But thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt, conservation was in its infancy. Many bird watchers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. So on Christmas Day in1900 the Audubon's Society's ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed a new holiday tradition a - "Christmas Bird Census"- that would count birds during the holidays rather than shoot them.

So began the Christmas Bird Count.

Today, bird watching is no longer a sport for the casual hiker with binoculars. Science has recognized the importance of the information gathered by organizations like the Audubon Society and how the data, fed into computers, helps form a true picture of bird migration. It also helps to understand climate change and how pollution and development can disrupt an animal's life cycle.

"This year's count found one Red-shouldered Hawk," said Emlen. "This hawk usually lives further south." For many, the fact that birds normally living in the lower latitudes are moving further north is yet another indication climate change is occurring.

Emlen said his volunteers counted both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river. Some volunteers brought boats to paddle along the forest shorelines. " We probably can add the Eurasian Collared-Dove to this year's count, "said Emlen. "They are now well established on Puget Island."

Emlen said on his last trip to the east end of Puget Island he counted 23 Collared doves and he's sure a Willet is visiting the island. Other birds seen but not common to the area include 31 Snow Geese in Brownsmead, a Clark’s Grebe in Knappa, a Savannah Sparrow on the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge, a Great Egret on Tenasillahe Island, and a Rough-legged Hawk on Puget Island.

Wahkiakum county is directly under the West Coast Migratory flyway for migrating birds. The Audubon says one in four Americans now consider themselves bird watchers.

This year's Christmas Bird Count continues until the end of January. Anyone interested in learning more about bird watching or spotting should check out the Audubon website and sign up for one of the Society's "Citizen Scientist" projects.