Christmas Bird Count (CBC) dates and contact information in the Berks County Area each circle is a 7.5 mile radius circle. The dates and contact info are below. If you want to help by counting birds at your bird feeders please contact the compiler listed for each count. Please pre-register with the compiler listed below and see the instructions for feeder counting to the on this page!
to zoom in and see details of the map of circles click on this link Active map of Christmas bird Count circles near Berks County, PA
If you click on any of the colored circles you will see the name of that count area.
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CBCs in the Berks County Area.
If you would like to help out either in the field or by feeder watching if you are in the cricle's area contact the individual count's listed compiler.
Learn more about Christmas Bird Counts
December 15, 2024 (Sunday) Reading Christmas Bird Count
Compiler: Lucy Cairns 610-223-4501 ljanetcairns@gmail.com
December 20, 2020 (Friday) Elverson Christmas Bird Count
Compiler: Jim Cook Cell: 610-587-7545 Work: 610-286-5021 jim@elversonsupply.net
December 29, 2023 (Sunday) Hamburg Christmas Bird Count
Compiler: Laurie Goodrich 570-943-3411 Ext. 106
January 4, 2025 (Saturday) Bernville Christmas Bird Count
Compiler: Mike Slater paplantings@gmail.com
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Each CBC circle covers far more than the named town please see the map and zoom in!
"With the rapid increase in use of the Merlin birding app for identifying bird vocalizations
in the field, Audubon needs to address the best use practices of this birding tool on
Christmas Bird Counts.
1. If an unfamiliar vocalization is heard by CBC participants and Merlin is used to assist in the identification, inclusion of the species is permitted.
2. If Merlin picks up a vocalization of a bird species that participants did not hear right away, but that then do then hear and identify, inclusion of the species is permitted.
3. If Merlin assists in the identification of the call of a rare or hard-to-identify
species, secondary identification by sight or photography should be obtained to permit
inclusion of that species.
4. As with by-ear identification, species that are often imitated by others (hawks
by jays, mimicry by mimids, etc.) should also be visually confirmed for inclusion.
5. If Merlin identifies a vocalization of a species that is neither heard nor
independently seen by participants on a Christmas Bird Count, that species may not
be included in the CBC results."
By Lucy Cairns, Compiler of the Reading CBC.
For CBC data to be useful, the rules for both counting birds and
reporting ‘effort’ data must be followed exactly.
CBC Feeder Count – A Guide
by Lucy Cairns
Compiler of the Reading CBC
Birds at feeders are likely to be missed by CBC observers out ‘in the field,’ so feeder counts add valuable data to the effort. The rules for doing a CBC feeder count are not the same as those for
other feeder watch projects, and must be followed exactly.
The minimum feeder watchers need
to know: ·
Participants must register in advance with the compiler of their circle, providing their email
address and the street address where their feeders are located.
Your feeders must be located within the boundaries of a CBC count circle.
·
Count birds only on the count day.
·
For each species, report the maximum number of individuals present at ONE TIME during
your counting period. This is to avoid double-counting. So, if you have 12 House finches present
at one time and 20 present at a different time, report 20 and not 32.
·
You can include birds heard but not seen if you are confident of the ID.
(Do NOT rely on
Merlin Sound ID alone!)
See Use of Merlin birding app
on CBCs elsewhere on this page.
·
Include only birds using your feeder (which can include hawks coming to your yard in hopes
of catching a feeder bird). Do not include birds outside your yard or just flying over.
·
You can count for any amount of time, and for multiple periods during the day. Add up your time
and submit a single checklist.
If you stop focusing on your feeder for more than a couple of
minutes, subtract that time from your total.
· Your report can be sent to your compiler by either using the Audubon CBC checklist form
provided by the compiler
or
by sharing an eBird list with the compiler. Be sure to include your total time spent counting, rounded to the nearest quarter-hour. You can put this info in the comments section of your eBird checklist.
The CBC does not include birds reported as ‘sp’ (i.e., chickadee sp. or sparrow sp.) if any others are reported ‘to the species’ (i.e.Carolina chickadee or White-throated sparrow). Since the vast majority of chickadees in our count area now are Carolina chickadees, report any chickadees as Carolinas unless you are experienced at discerning the differences and provide a detailed justification for IDing a Black-capped chickadee.
Cornell's Project Feeder Watch has a good page on separating these two species when seen at your bird feeders
"History of the Christmas Bird Count "Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt." They would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.
Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a "Christmas Bird Census" that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them."
From The Audubon Society's web site
Each Christmas Bird Count (CBC) endeavors to count :All of the birds" in an area in one day (24 hours) in an area defined as a circle of 7.5 miles radius centered on a specific point. Each Circle. Now Circles are not supposed to overlap, but older established one do Such as a few in the Lancaster and Philadelphia areas do.
In the Reading/Berks County PA area we have the following 5 counts that cover part of Berks County, PA
and nearby
Anyone involved in the CBC can submit photos taken during a CBC intothe online CBC photo gallery. Go to the CBC web page atwww.christmasbirdcount.org and click on Join the Christmas BirdCount. On the page this takes you to, click on the link in ‘Step 5.’Photos must be submitted by the original photographer so that termsof use can be obtained.
Please donate to support the Christmas Bird Count! We rely solely ondonations. http://birds.audubon.org/action-items/donate-christmas-bird-countThanks again for joining this important conservation project! Do nothesitate to email or call me if you have any questions.