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Local Christmas Bird Count Approaching

Aimee Van Tatenhove

With the days getting colder, getting outside can be tough. Counting birds in the name of science is a great way to spend some time outside, or just looking out your window.

“What we really hope is that more and more people will be interested in submitting data from just what they can see from home looking out their own window. You don't have to have a bird feeder, you don't have to have landscape, specially. It's just whatever you happen to see.” said Hilary Shughart, the president of the Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Shughart oversees the annual Christmas Bird Count in Cache Valley. To participate in the free count, all you need to do is spend a few minutes looking out your window counting birds you recognize.

It might seem like you need to be an expert to count birds for science, but Shughart said the count is open to everyone within the count zone, regardless of birding skill.

“It's okay, if you don't even know what half the birds are that you see…you can email us photos, and we can help you identify if you've got some birds that you would like to report, but you don't know what they are.” Shughart said.

The bird counts are used by scientists to understand long term trends in the number birds and types of bird species in an area, not just in Logan, but around the world. But don’t get discouraged if you don’t see any birds while you’re doing your count.

“Every little piece of data is valuable, even reporting zero, saying I didn't see anything is valuable information. So I hope that nobody will feel discouraged, just because they feel that they don't have a whole lot of birds that they happen to notice in their own backyard, letting us know that you're not seeing them is actually really valuable information.” Shugart said.

The Christmas Bird Count is on Saturday, December 19th. For more information about what neighborhoods can participate and how to sign up, visit bridgerlandaudubon.org/, or contact Hilary Shughart at 435-213-3668 or cbc@bridgerlandaudubon.org.

Aimee Van Tatenhove is a science reporter at UPR. She spends most of her time interviewing people doing interesting research in Utah and writing stories about wildlife, new technologies and local happenings. She is also a PhD student at Utah State University, studying white pelicans in the Great Salt Lake, so she thinks about birds a lot! She also loves fishing, skiing, baking, and gardening when she has a little free time.