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December 24, 1961 - The Audubon Christmas Bird Count�P, C4 N .. Ip . ...... . . W7. Tke Christmas Count Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven In keeping with the season, Focus on Nature this week brings you a timely resime of what the famed Christmas count is all about. To bring this story to you there is no better person than Gilbert Raynor. For the past eight years he has been organizer and coordinator of this count which I have enthusias- tically participated in. As a second part of this series, Mr RayL nor will summarize our count in a later issue which, I am sure, will be well worth watching for. ps. I THE AUDUBON -CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT by Gilbert S. Raynor During the period from Dec 20 through Jan 1, over 10,000 bird watchers ranging from professional ornithologists to once -a -year birders will take to the field in the world's largest organized birding event, the 62nd Annual Audubon Christmas Count. They are expected to locate, identify and enumerate over 50 million birds of more than 500 species. Although this .event is now fair- ly well known to most of the in- terested public through timely news stories in many of our daily papers, its origin and growth are relatively unknown. Through the ,years before the turn of the present century, our population was still largely rural, modern methods of celebrating the Christmas season had not yet replaced the old customs and the current movements for conserva- tion of our, wildlife resources were then in their infancy. Christmas usually meant the gathering of large groups of rel- atives, much visiting with friends and neighbors and a limited vari- ety of social events. Among these was the old "Christmas hunt" in which most of the men and boys participated and which involved the shooting of as many birds and animals as possible. Unfortu- nately, the bag included not only the usual game birds but also any variety of song bird within range. The continued popularity of this activity with its training of suc- ceeding generations in useless and indiscriminate slaughter disturbed many of our early conservation - ists but not until 1899 was a sub- stitute activity ipitiated. In that year, Dr Frank M Chap- man, one of the great ornitholo- gists of all time and the first to popularize bird study in this country, originated the Christmas Census in which the objective was to identify and, count, rather than kill, as many birds as pos- sible. The first census included 27 observers in 25 counts scattered ,aund the country. They totaled 8 , ut 10,000 individuals but the ,31�gest list included only 36 spe- ies. The counts grew slowly through the years and it is of consider- able local interest to note that the first count containing 50 spe- cies was submitted by Harry, Frank and Roy .Lathem of Ori- ent in 1907 and that Roy Lathem is still one of Long Island's most expert and active naturalists.. By 1910, the first list of 100 species had been obtained in Cal- ifornia and in 1960, the amazing total of 200 species on a single count was reached at Cocoa, Fla. The earliest counts usually re- sulted from a walk of only a few hours duration but after a few years, rules specifying at least' eight hours of observation were in force. The counts today are highly standardized. Rules call for the count to be taken in an area contained within a 15 mile diam- eter circle. Counts are expected to last from dawn to dusk and can be 'taken only on one cal - ender day during the period. Un- usual species must be identified by competent observers who must submit details of their observa- tions. Although a few counts are still being taken by one or a few observers, most now include one to several dozen observers divid- ed into numerous groups each assigned a certain sector of the count area. Use of automobiles allows coverage of many areas beyond reach by foot while boats are often used to reach islands or beaches and to search out wa- ter birds beyond sight of land. Observers usually scout their area ahead of time to locate concentrations of birds while feeding stations assist by stabiliz- idg the presence of many individ- uals. Through the years, the Christ - mas count has assumed scien- tific and sparting as well as con- servational value. The census gives an excellent picture of the continent's mid winter bird pop- ulation so that increases or de- creases in abundance, shifts in wintering areas and other chang- es can be studied from year to year. In addition, keen competition exists between different count groups and every effort is made to obtain the largest list possi- ble. This, of course, enhances the scientific value of the count for the more thorough the coverage, the more representative the count is of the birdlife of the region. Over 600 counts are now tak- en annually in the United States and Canada with 8 to 10 on Long Island. Areas covered here in- clude Brooklyn, Northern a n d Southern Nassau County, Smith- town, Orient, Montauk, Quogue to Water Mill and Central Suffolk County. The latter count includes the area from Yaphank to Riverhead, from Brookhaven to Westhamp- ton and from southern Wading River to Moriches Inlet. This count was started in 1953 with 5 observers in 3 parties and grew to 32 observers in 9 parties in 1960. In that year, these obser- vers covered 418 miles, 60 by foot, 356 by car and 2 by boat. They observed 28,785 birds of 103 spe- cies. Since the beginning, the num- ber of species listed has never dropped below 90 while a peak of 114 was reached in 1959. A total of 145 species has been seen on the eight counts. This year the count is sched- uled for Dec 26 and hopes are high that over 100 species will again be recorded. Results of this count will be reported in a later column.