Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count takes flight in Marin, S.F.
South Marin and San Francisco conduct their counts this week. In Oakland, results from Golden Gate Audubon Societys Dec. 18 count found a never-before-seen shore bird at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, a sign the restored marsh is maturing. The traditional Christmas count dates back to 1900, when an ornithologist proposed a less lethal alternative to the Christmas side hunt, a common diversion where teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and small animals in an afternoon. Now birders across the world attempt to identify and record every individual bird encountered certain 15-mile-diameter regions — or tracts. Strict logs are kept and counts tallied. Local Audubon chapters organize teams, and the same tracts get counted year-to-year, often by the same people. Bay Area tracts in Oakland, Hayward, Fremont, San Francisco and Marin County consistently rank among the tops in the nation in terms of speciescounted, total birds sighted, and sheer number of birders participating. Last year, Oakland and San Francisco ranked in the top 50 areas nationwide in the number of species found. And Oakland, with 203 pairs of eyes looking for feathered friends in 04, had the second-highest number of counters worldwide. This year, heavy rain and 50 mph gusts of wind foiled Oaklands effort to top that mark, said Bob Lewis, co-compiler of the Oakland census. But 150 people turned out nonetheless, and they spotted 170 different species. One of those was the first-ever sighting of a California Black Rail at the MLK shoreline. The elusive rail is a tiny shorebird, about the size of a sparrow, that overwinters in salt marshes around Benicia and the Palo Alto bay lands. That one decided to make former industrial site near the Oakland Airport its winter home is a sign restoration efforts are paying off, Lewis said. Its an indicator of a healthy marsh. Another first at the MLK shoreline: Endangered California Clapper Rails have moved from Arrowhead Marsh into a nearby remediation area, Lewis said. Thats a sign the marsh population is full. Christmas Bird Counts continue this week throughout the Bay Area. South Marin County holds its count today, while San Francisco conducts its census Thursday. The San Francisco Count circle includes the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, much of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, all of San Francisco, and down the Peninsula to San Bruno Mountain State Park and the wetlands north of San Francisco International Airport.
A full list of Christmas Bird Counts for California is available on the Web at http://www.audubon-ca.org/-cbcs.htm. Contact Douglas Fischer at dfischer@angnewspapers.com . http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3349739 |