The 2018 Christmas Bird Count is coming up. Volunteers are always needed. If you are interested in participating, there are two ways of doing so. The first way is to participate on a team covering a designated area. Each area generally has a team leader and one or more team members. The level of expertise of team members varies widely – we all have to learn so don’t hesitate to take part, which you can do by contacting one of the coordinators listed below. The second way of participating is to watch and record the species that visit your feeder on count day, if it is inside the count circle. See https://www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/cbc/ for more details. The map on this site shows the count circles, which are centered on some point and delineate the “in” area. If you click on these reveals a pop-up box with all the contact information. The actual assignment of areas to the teams is done closer to the date by the coordinator, who also sends out maps and instructions specific to that count. The team leaders then decide on the route within the assigned area. Note that there are also counts in Duncan and Port Alberni (click on the count circles on the map for details) as well if the dates don’t suit you and you are willing to travel a little further.
The Nanoose Count is on December 14, and the coordinator is Joe Crichton (joecrichton@shaw.ca), former President of Nanoose Naturalists.
The Nanaimo count is on December 29, and the coordinator is Tanya Seebacher (tanyaseebacher@gmail.com). I believe Tanya travels a lot, so she is slow to respond sometimes.
There is also a Parksville Qualicum count on December 16, which is coordinated by Guy Monty (pqcbc@shaw.ca) because Sandra Gray (who is listed on the web site) stepped down this year.
Good birding!
– Nature Nanaimo Executive