Christmas Bird Count

[jayb...@aol.com]

Hello Birders!

Time surely does fly, and the Hartford Christmas Bird Count is one month from today!  On Sunday, December 14th, I will be beginning my day early at Cedar Hill Cemetery, and ending counting crows somewhere in the vicinity of the Hartford/West Hartford line.  For those who are new to Christmas Count, our 15 mile diameter circle covers all of Hartford, East Hartford and West Hartford, and portions of Avon, Farmington, New Britain, Newington, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Glastonbury, Manchester, South Windsor, Windsor and Bloomfield.  Birders travel singly or in small groups, counting every bird seen or heard.  Our circle is divided into twelve (12) areas, each with a captain(s).  Captains are responsible for compiling the data from their areas.  We also keep track of time spent in the field and distance traveled, both by car and on foot.

So, why do we do this?  The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science study of its kind, as it began during the administration of Teddy Roosevelt.  Over time, our results tell us wat species of birding are increasing in the Hartford area, and which species may be declining, or may have completely disappeared.  There are well over two thousand Christmas Bird Counts ranging through North American and beyond.  The Counts are administered by the National Audubon Society, and one may go to their web site to find results of past Counts, both in Hartford and throughout the country.  To find out about other Connecticut Christmas Counts of which there are 19, check out the web site of the Connecticut Ornithological Association.

I hope many of you reading this will be able to participate in this year's Count, whether it is watching birds for an hour in your yard, or spending an entire day in the field.  The areas with their corresponding captains are listed below.  It is important to contact the captain of an area in which you want to bird to make sure that we do not have double coverage. If you have questions or would like additional information, feel free to email me at jayb...@aol.com

Good Birding!

Jay Kaplan, Compiler

Hartford Christmas Bird Count

Hartford Christmas Bird Count Captains

Area 1:  South Windsor (between Main Street and the Connecticut River)     Paul Desjardins     paul.des...@gmail.com

Area 2: South Windsor (upland portions)  Jim Pfeifer   jpfe...@sirconsulting.com

                                                                    Paul and Vicky Margiott     marg...@cox.net  

Area 3: Manchester     Maggie Peretto     wing...@gmail.com

Area 4: Glastonbury    Andrew Dasinger     amdas...@gmail.com

Area 5: Wethersfield/Rocky Hill     Steve Kotchko     smk...@cox.net

Area 6: Hartford     Jay Kaplan     jayb...@aol.com

Area 7: Newington/NewBritain     Sylvia Halkin     hal...@ccsu.edu

Area 8: Farmington/Avon     Sarah Faulkner     sffau...@gmail.com

Area 9:  West Hartford     Brian Toal   bria...@sbcglobal.net

Area 10:  Bloomfield    Jim Watso      jcwp...@cox.net

Area 11:  Windsor     Mike and Judy Whittlesey     mwhi...@gmail.com

Area 12: East Hartford     Blair Wlochowski     bwloc...@yahoo.com