Every year on cold December mornings, bird enthusiasts around the world arise at dawn to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count.
The Christmas Bird Count was not always a peaceful and benevolent event. Originally it was the Great Christmas Side Hunt, where hunters would split into teams and whoever would kill the most birds would win.
By 1900, the National Audubon Society encouraged people to replace the hunt with the Christmas Bird Count as a means to preserve the declining bird populations. Ever since then, birding teams have gone out in the early winter and those to spot the most species win. Eventually the Side Hunt fell out of popularity, but the Christmas Bird Count remains.
The Rockland Audubon Society (RAS) held their first count in 1947 and nine birding teams counted 47 species of birds.
Last year on Dec. 14, I participated in the 62nd annual count held by RAS. The weather was bitter cold on the morning of the 14th, with temperatures hovering below zero and relatively clear skies.
The birding group met at 7A.M. in the parking lot of Rockland Lake. Only 20 feet away from us we saw our first bird. A Great Blue Heron was attempting to catch fish in the partially frozen lake.
The team soon spotted a common Bluebird singing in the woods. We then sited approximately five hundred Mergansers sitting on the ice when we stumbled on a clearing in the trees. It was the first time I had ever seen that many ducks.
Rockland Lake is now a recreational park and a birding hotspot with a paved bike path encircling the lake. But in the 1800’s, Rockland Lake was the center of a large ice harvesting industry and the cliffs surrounding the lake were turned into granite quarries.
In March of 1894, a fire started in the Knickerbocker Ice company’s icehouse and most of the town surrounding Rockland Lake was burned to the ground in the inferno. NY State bought most of the land previously owned by the ice companies and opened Rockland Lake State Park in the 1960’s.
The birding team then drove to the smaller Congers Lake. Among the many bird species was the Ruby Crowned Kinglet who greeted us in the parking lot.
Upon scaling the 750-foot cliff at Hook Mountain overlooking the Hudson, different birds could be observed. Birders recognize that cliff as the ideal hawk watching location during the fall migration.
The wildlife during the climb fascinated us. Sure-footed white tailed deer came running up the mountain. We gazed in envy at how easy the deer made the icy trek look.
The effort and energy was well worth the view that greeted us at the summit. To the east of Hook Mountain, the Hudson River flows almost directly beneath.
To the west, Rockland and Congers lakes are visible. Looking south, we could spot a prime birding location, Piermont Pier, an old railroad pier and surrounding marsh.
After the count, teams bring their results to the potluck dinner and bird countdown held by RAS. The compiled Rockland results were sent to the National Audubon Society who publishes the results of all the regional bird counts from around the country.
But the Christmas Bird Count is not limited to the United States. A count is eligible any place that shares at least one species of bird found in the US. Most international counts are held in South America, Mexico, and Canada.
Last year, three American researchers even held a count in Antarctica. Although December is summer in the frozen continent, temperatures are still well below freezing.
The scientists braved the cold and became one of the only bird count teams able to tally penguins in their count.
The Christmas Bird Count is not purely for enjoyment either. The data collected from across the country and around the world during the event, is used to help track the size and location of bird populations.
The count played a vital role in the comeback of the Peregrine Falcon and of our national bird, the Bald Eagle.
If you would like to participate in the 2009 Christmas Bird Count on December 20th, you can contact the Rockland Audubon Society at http://www.rocklandaudubon.org/.
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