Locals Gather for Annual Christmas Bird Count
Posted by Steve Schmidt on January 5, 2010
Anna Maria Island is known as a bird sanctuary and is home to several rare nesting shore birds. The 2009 Manatee Audubon Christmas Bird Count made history, hitting the 100 species mark for the first time, with 13 more species identified than the record-breaking 87 species identified in 2008.
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Great blue herons are among the birds counted during Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count last week.
BRADENTON BEACH – Something small and fragile is making noise in the mangrove bushes on Leffis Key as John Ginaven walks by, followed by a binocular brigade.
Coming to a silent stop like troops on patrol, they wait, listening and watching.
Ginaven makes the same noise they’ve been hearing, called “pishing.”
There it is again.
They whisper and point.
“Don’t point,” one whispers. “It scares them.”
Cameras are raised. Binoculars are focused.
The bird moves and the jig is up. Whispering turns into excited chatter, as David Williamson flips open a bird identification book to narrow the choices.
Can you see its belly? Is it yellow? How many bands are on its flank? Are there white circles around the eyes?
Is it a male or a female?
“Are you kidding?” one new birder asks in disbelief, unaware that colors alone can give away the answer
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MYAKKA — Sprawling Myakka River State Park on Monday will host the first of four Christmas bird counts slated for Manatee and Sarasota counties this month and early next month.
Those taking part in the 110th annual Christmas Bird Count are among tens of thousands of volunteers from Alaska to Antartica who will spend part of their holiday season in the wild counting birds, according to Delta Willis, senior communications manager for the National Audubon Society, based in New York City.
The wildlife census here starts Monday and continues through Jan. 2, officials said. The number of volunteers signed up for the Bradenton area bird count, slated for Dec. 19, is up 20 percent this year, to about 55, said David Williamson, Christmas Bird Count coordinator for Manatee County Audubon SocietyMYAKKA — Sprawling Myakka River State Park on Monday will host the first of four Christmas bird counts slated for Manatee and Sarasota counties this month and early next month.
Those taking part in the 110th annual Christmas Bird Count are among tens of thousands of volunteers from Alaska to Antartica who will spend part of their holiday season in the wild counting birds, according to Delta Willis, senior communications manager for the National Audubon Society, based in New York City.
The wildlife census here starts Monday and continues through Jan. 2, officials said. The number of volunteers signed up for the Bradenton area bird count, slated for Dec. 19, is up 20 percent this year, to about 55, said David Williamson, Christmas Bird Count coordinator for Manatee County Audubon Society.
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