When I say Christmas Bird Count to most people, I often wonder if they think I’m referring to the avian enumeration in that old song, you know, “four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves”, etc. Come to think of it, fully half of the gifts from that person’s true love are birds. I feel like I could have been a real Casanova in the 18 th century. But I digress. What I really want to talk about is the actual Christmas Bird Counts, those all-out, all-day birding blowouts held each year from mid-December to early January. The first counts for the Cape and Islands are already in the book, and it’s time for the post-game analysis.
When I say Christmas Bird Count to most people, I often wonder if they think I’m referring to the avian enumeration in that old song, you know, “four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves”, etc. Come to think of it, fully half of the gifts from that person’s true love are birds. I feel like I could have been a real Casanova in the 18 th century. But I digress. What I really want to talk about is the actual Christmas Bird Counts, those all-out, all-day birding blowouts held each year