First bird count set for county

   Dec. 19 is a very important day for bird lovers in Jackson County, and could end up being very important to bird lovers, biologists, conservationists and more, across the nation.

   For the first time, Jackson County will host a Christmas Bird Count, a nationwide event that surrounding counties have participated in for years. In fact, Matagorda County's bird count is regularly number one in the United States.

   A Christmas Bird Count, now in its 116th year, was called "one of the largest, longest-running citizen science efforts in the world," by National Geographic, and in many areas still happens on Christmas Day, although often it happens slightly earlier or later. Officially, they happen between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. People with all levels of interest and knowledge, from the novice bird watcher to the expert birder, to the biologist, all gather data on numbers of bird species, and numbers within species. 'The data is then used for research, conservation, and many other things.

   The count is set to happen at the Formosa Tejano Wetlands, according to Bill Harvey, Formosa's Communications Manager. 

   Bob Friedrichs, certified master naturalist and birder, has been involved in bird counts for years, and said that counties surrounding Jackson County have always submitted data, leaving a grey spot where Jackson County is. The count in Jackson County will fill in a void that could be useful to scientists.

   The first Christmas Bird Count took place in 1900, as an answer  to the traditional competitive hunt that happened on Christmas day. Concerned about dwindling bird populations, Frank M. Chapman, an ornithologist, began a holiday tradition he called a “bird census,” in which he and other conservationists would count bird species instead of shooting them.  27 people counted birds that day, and today it is a nationwide event, highly-anticipated by avid birders and invaluable to conservationists, biologists, and even the Environmental Protection Agency.

   Chapman couldn’t possibly have imagined what his first conservation effort would cause. In Chapman’s time, conservation was in its infancy, and few thought of the repurcussions of overhunting. Today’s bird count brings together conservationists of all kinds.

   People of all skill levels will meet for the count at 6 a.m. on Dec. 19 at the Formosa Wetlands, about a mile south of LaWard on Highway 172. Those interested in participating can email Friedrichs at bird.fried@gmail.com.