Out for the Count
PENN TOWNSHIP — One person happy about last week's snowfall was Chris Kubiak.
The development associate for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania says snow and cold weather draw wild birds to feeders and make them easier to see.
He and Ryan Stauffer, environmental educator at Succop Nature Park, hope the snowy conditions last until Jan. 6 for the South Butler Christmas Bird Count, an annual tally of avians in the county that will mark its 118th year next month.
Stauffer said, “I'll be running a Kids' Christmas Bird County at Succop from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 6 to encourage kids with an interest in birds.
“I'll keep track of the birds we see and how many and turn the information over to Chris,” said Stauffer.
Kubiak will be running the much larger bird count using volunteers throughout the county in a circular area centered around Mars and running west to Zelienople, south to Cranberry Township, east to the Route 228 corridor and north to Penn and Connoquenessing townships.
Kubiak said, “We invite the public to meet us at the house (in the park) at 8 a.m. Jan. 6. We will break up into different teams and go out across the count circle.”
“We'll be going on the back roads and into point counts where we move along preselected routes where we put the car on the side of the road and survey an area,” said Kubiak.
He said novice bird counters will be paired with experienced birders to conduct the count.
Stauffer added, “We want to get as many volunteers as possible.”
Stauffer said, “It's the world's oldest citizen scientist program. The older generation nurtures the younger one in this. And we hope that it will continue after we are gone.”
Stauffer said, “Citizen science is so important. The more people we get the more data points we get, which in turn gives us a clearer picture of bird patterns.”
That's why, Kubiak said, he welcomes people who can conduct the count from the comfort of their homes, tabulating and identifying birds visiting the backyard feeder.
People interested in taking part in this year's count, whether spotting birds in the field or from their living rooms, should contact him by sending an email to ckubiak@aswp.org.Stauffer said parents and children interested in the kids bird count should gather at Succop at 10 a.m.Kubiak said last year's bird count — conducted during a three-week period between Dec. 15 and Jan. 5 — involved 71,000 participants across North and South Americas.This year's South Butler Christmas Bird Count is one day outside the official Audubon Society bird count time, said Kubiak, so the results can't be counted in the national statistics.But the sightings and numbers will be tallied and used in the future.Kubiak said, “It takes two weeks to compile all the data. I have to look at it. If I see something, if it says one person spotted a dodo, some rare bird not very common, I'm going to have to go to them and ask, 'Are you sure?'”“Not everybody is an experienced or hard-core birder. They like birds and like to feed them and they may get a red-billed woodpecker, a common bird, mixed up with a redheaded woodpecker, an uncommon bird,” said Kubiak.“I would rather more people participate and do that. Rare things do happen. In Hampton Township, they have sighted a bullocks oriole, which is unusual. They are usually found out west around the Rockies,” said Kubiak.Kubiak said it's been obvious some species are doing better in the county such as hawks, turkeys and bluebirds while other once common birds, such as ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants and the American black ducks, have grown scarce.Kubiak said, “The bird count is important for science, but it's fun. There is a social aspect to it. You swap stories. Its just fun to see what shows up.”Both Kubiak and Stauffer are hoping that a snowy owl or three will show up in January's count.They said the bird was moving its range south from Canada. Five snowy owls were recently sighted in Presque Isle, and one was reported at Moraine State Park.
