From dawn to dusk, within designated 15-mile-wide territories throughout the Coastal Bend, they walk, boat, listen, observe, whisper — and count.
Teams of volunteers, armed with binoculars, notepads, guidebooks, water and cameras, fan out on scheduled days during the year-end holiday to take part in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), a tradition that goes back to the 1900s. Established as a way to promote conservation over the customary holiday bird hunts, the CBCs now are conducted in 20 countries and across the United States, with the South Texas counts among the most vital.
The CBCs collect data on the number of species and individual birds or waterfowl within an assigned area, which is information that goes to the National Audubon Society. Identical data points are collected across the counts to ensure consistency and reliability, and qualifiers are included for weather and other variables. Reports of rare birds must be verified through photographs or witnesses. The reporting is rigorous, but the on-site information gathering is rewarding, say volunteers.
Local counters survey some of the nation’s most important and bountiful bird environments. With the Coastal Bend’s many varieties of waterways, prairies, plants, trees and prey, as well as climate, proximity to the Southern Hemisphere and wind patterns, the area is a magnet for more than 200 species of shorebirds, ducks, geese, cranes and songbirds who live or migrate here. There are more than 100 species of birds alone in the Rockport area.
The environment is unmatched anywhere in the nation, said local count organizer Larry Jordan, and for the last two decades, it has earned Corpus Christi the title of the “Birdiest City in America.”
“The CBCs from this area are among the most important,” said Jordan. “Our regional counts of species and birds have documented several important shifting migration patterns over the years, and our contributions to a national database inform conservation strategies and issues on a broader level. Plus, we use the data locally to help grow eco-tourism and protect our resources.”
Claudia Dorn, a biologist and longtime coordinator for the Rockport count, said volunteers need not be experienced birders.
“The CBCs offer a challenging visual hunt, one that can help to conserve our unique natural environment,” said Dorn. “Birds show you what is important in the environment — and good things happen when you get outside, walk the land and breathe the air. And when you have a seminal find with a rare bird, there’s nothing like it.”
