This

is a big year for people who love birds. The

Christmas Bird Count, the annual census of North

American birds sponsored jointly by the National

Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of

Ornithology, hits a significant milestone this

winter: its 100th anniversary.

The

Peachtree City site is the only one on Atlanta's

south side, and birders here have participated

annually since 1981. This year's organizer is

Brock Hutchins, who said he would like to hear

from property owners willing to let strangers

with binoculars wander about from dawn to dusk on

Dec. 18.

"Our

greatest need is a place to count birds and

permission from landowners to use their

property," Brock said. Locations must fall

within seven and one-half miles of Sharpsburg in

eastern Coweta County.

Begun

in 1900 as an effort to mobilize the early

conservation movement, the CBC now contributes to

a vast database that helps clarify how human

activity has impacted the environment over the

entire 20th Century.

According

to Audubon sources, over 50,000 volunteers in all

50 states, every Canadian province, Central and

South America, the Caribbean and several Pacific

Islands (areas where North America's breeding

birds winter) will count and record every bird

species encountered over one calendar day during

the Dec. 16, 1999-Jan. 3, 2000, period. As

data is gathered, it will be entered into an

on-line database - BirdSource -and

available virtually instantaneously.

More

than 1,700 teams of volunteers will fan out over

their designated circles, 15 miles in diameter,

to cover as much ground as possible within a

24-hour period.

"The

Christmas Bird Count is the world's

longest-running ornithological database,"

said Cornell Lab of Ornithology Director John

Fitzpatrick. "Global warming, weather trends

and urban sprawl may be affecting birds with

increasing impact. As a result, the CBC is now

indispensable and BirdSource is the right tool

for accessing vital information on the status and

health of continental birds as well as the

general state of the environment."

The

decline of several birds, including peregrine

falcons, trumpeter swans, and bald eagles, was

first documented by CBC observations, resulting

in their being listed as endangered. The count

also helped the U.S. government chart the rebound

of these same species, which have either been

removed or proposed for removal from the

endangered species list.

Teams

of avid birders from as far away as DeKalb and

Cobb counties make the trek to Fayette County

each year, where they start by "owling"

before dawn and trek through woods, fields and

wetlands until late afternoon, regardless of the

weather. They pool their tallies over sandwiches

and hot cider at the home of one local enthusiast

before heading home. Many will do it all over

again the next day in another circle further

north.

Hutchins

cautioned that this is not the time for novice

birders to practice their skills, but said there

is a role for feeder watchers who may observe

backyard visitors from the comfort of their easy

chairs.

To

offer ingress to property, or for further

information, Hutchins may be reached at [email protected] or

770-461-5042. Information on BirdSource is at https://birdsource.cornell.edu/cbc/ .

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